The afternoon of match day.
At the Hunters Rest Hotel in Rustenburg, South Africa.
While the Korean national team players received top-class massages, head coach Heo Sung-soo sat down for tea with assistant coach Jeong Ye-seong.
It was a rare moment of leisure.
But their conversation still revolved around football.
"How are the players?"
"The specialist says about 90 percent of them should recover by next week."
"And the injured ones?"
"No additional major injuries have been found."
"That's a relief."
As expected in a Round of 16 match, Mexico had fought desperately until the end, and the team's physical exhaustion was greater than anticipated.
The medical tests after the game also revealed a number of minor injuries.
Still, the fortunate part was that three to four days of rest would be enough for recovery.
The real concern was Ho-young, who had collided with Márquez late in the second half.
Injuries can show externally, but sometimes they remain hidden and worsen over time.
If it was the latter, he would need sufficient rest before it developed further.
Accurately assessing Ho-young's condition was crucial.
"So what did the specialist say?"
"The same as before. It seems the ankle injury he suffered at the club in March has flared up again. He needs at least five days of rest."
Heo let out a deep sigh.
An ankle sprain, if treated early, has a low chance of recurrence. But when subjected to a heavy external impact, the risk inevitably increases.
Ho-young's case fit that description.
"They said Márquez's tackle slightly glanced off but still caused an impact."
"Damn it. We have to treat it properly. The World Cup is important, but if we delay now, it could become worse later."
Even if it seemed manageable for now, untreated ankle sprains can disrupt overall leg balance and affect a player's coordination.
He could not delay treatment, even if it meant missing a match.
"At least it wasn't worse. They said if Márquez had fully committed, he would have been out for one or two months. As long as the recovery is not delayed, he should be able to play the next match."
It was fortunate, considering the circumstances.
However, Heo was more concerned about the semifinal than the quarterfinal.
The quarterfinal will already demand significant energy.
The quarterfinal would be held at Soccer City in Johannesburg, over 1,700 meters above sea level.
Even if they won there, the real issue would come next.
The semifinal will be twice as exhausting. No matter how strong Ho-young's stamina is, he cannot carry every match alone.
There were only three days of rest between the quarterfinal and the semifinal.
"There is no choice. Leave Ho-young out of the starting lineup and exclude him from full training. Have him do only light exercises so his body does not stiffen."
"Understood."
The roles of the other players were just as important.
They had to hold out while Ho-young recovered his condition.
And.
"Please."
Heo hoped and prayed.
That the United States would advance, as they seemed the more manageable opponent.
That night.
At Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, the Round of 16 match between the United States and Ghana took place.
The United States took the lead thanks to an early goal from Landon Donovan.
It was an upset against predictions that Ghana would dominate.
But the surprise did not last long.
Just before halftime, Ghana's star striker Asamoah Gyan equalized with a burst of pace.
And it did not end there.
Carrying that momentum, Ghana scored again in the second half to take the lead. Then, just before full time, Essien and Gyan combined on a counter-attack to seal the match.
All three goals came from counter-attacks.
[This means Korea will face Ghana in the quarterfinals. Many predicted Ghana would advance, but now that it is confirmed, there is a sense of pressure. We had hoped for the United States.]
[It is true that Ghana are more difficult than the United States. They are extremely strong in both power and speed. We may need to field quicker defenders.]
The Black Stars of Africa, Ghana.
They were stronger than expected.
With Michael Essien, Ghana's greatest player, controlling the midfield and setting the tempo, their attackers used their pace to finish decisively.
Their defenders were quick and physically strong, making reckless dribbling ineffective.
At least, that was how Ho-young saw it.
Essien is the biggest problem.
Michael Essien, the central midfielder of Chelsea, who had won a domestic double in the Premier League this season.
More precisely, he was a box-to-box midfielder.
With outstanding stamina and work rate, he carried the team's engine room, regarded as the strongest central midfielder of his generation and the successor to Patrick Vieira.
In some ways, they say he is even trickier than facing Mascherano.
Mascherano specialized as a defensive midfielder, while Essien was a box-to-box midfielder.
Their styles were completely different.
Simply put, if Mascherano was the cleaner of midfield, Essien was its enforcer.
However, he was originally not supposed to play in the South Africa World Cup.
The future had changed.
As Ho-young remembered, Essien had been expected to miss the tournament due to a nine-month injury.
Yet for some reason, he avoided that fate and participated fully.
And he had led Ghana safely into the quarterfinals.
They were not to be underestimated.
In terms of pure strength, they were superior to Korea.
Strong at high altitude, some even rated them above Mexico.
In short, an upgraded version of Nigeria.
The answer would be intelligent link-up play based on high-level build-up.
If Ho-young orchestrated from the center, it could work.
But the injury was the issue.
He would likely be treated by the day before the match, but whether he could last a full 90 minutes was the real question.
The next day, the 27th.
At Soccer City in Johannesburg, Argentina faced Uruguay in the Round of 16.
There were no surprises.
Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuaín each scored to send Argentina through. In the evening match, Germany narrowly defeated France 2-1 to advance.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands eliminated Slovakia 3-1 with a long-range strike from Sneijder.
Then came the highly anticipated clash between Brazil and Spain.
Many believed Brazil would prevail due to the altitude advantage, but Spain, the pre-tournament favorite, did not fall easily.
Even though methods to counter tiki-taka had been revealed, knowing the solution did not make it simple to stop.
In the end.
Brazil conceded to Iniesta and lost 1-0, packing their bags.
The quarterfinal bracket was set.
But something else was more surprising.
Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup ended with five goals.
Ho-young, with nine, began to pull away decisively.
The quarterfinals approached almost immediately after the bracket was finalized.
The first match would be Korea versus Ghana.
Kickoff was scheduled for 8:30 PM at Soccer City in Johannesburg.
The starting lineups were announced an hour before the match.
[7/2 (Fri) Korea vs Ghana Starting Lineup. As predicted, Ho-young is excluded from the starting eleven. He waits on the bench as a substitute, likely to be used in the second half or in case of emergency.]
It was news that brought contrasting emotions to both sides.
On top of that, Lee Chung-yong was out with a back injury.
[Meanwhile, Ghana have fielded almost their strongest lineup. One starting defender is missing due to injury, but there are no major changes. They line up in a 4-2-3-1.]
[Anthony Annan and Michael Essien are deployed as defensive midfielders, Kevin-Prince Boateng as the attacking midfielder, and Asamoah Gyan up front. It looks quite different from the counter-attacking approach they used in the Round of 16.]
[Perhaps they are bringing out the suffocating defensive strategy they used against Australia in the group stage.]
Whistle.
As expected, Ghana immediately shifted formations and pressed Korea aggressively.
[They are switching from a 4-3-3 and applying zonal defense.]
[They intend to give no space.]
Defensively, they adopted a 4-1-4-1, using numerical superiority to efficiently block Korea's attacking routes.
It was Milovan Rajevac's plan.
Originally, he intended to rely on speed-based counter-attacks, but after learning of Ho-young's injury, he quickly changed tactics.
With the opponent weakened, he adjusted accordingly.
By solidifying defense and midfield first, then attacking through multiple channels, he believed they could overwhelm a weaker side.
He aimed to suffocate Korea and seize full control.
If they controlled midfield and the second line, they could pound Korea like a punching bag.
The match unfolded exactly that way.
[Essien wins the ball. He simply shrugs Ki Sung-yueng aside and keeps possession.]
[Our players are struggling in terms of strength and flexibility. They need to defend space more intelligently and create openings.]
Korea's attacks did not go as planned.
By the 15th minute of the first half, they had lost the midfield battle and handed over control.
With Essien dominating the center, other Ghanaian players attacked freely.
Without Ho-young, everything was easier.
Heo's 4-4-2 could not even think of advancing into the second line, focusing instead on simply retaining possession.
[Ghana's attacking routes fall into three categories. Counter-attacks, long-range shots, and combination play followed by penetration. When we lose possession like this, the combination and penetration are the most dangerous.]
As expected, it was not long before Boateng and Gyan's swift combination nearly caused disaster.
Around the 30th minute.
It began with Boateng's forward pass.
[This is dangerous. Space has opened up instantly behind the defense.]
[Lee Jong-soo must chase all the way.]
Lee Jong-soo was a capable runner, but not on Gyan's level.
And eventually, the shot came.
Thud.
[It goes in. Asamoah Gyan scores his fourth goal of the tournament.]
[Jung Sung-yong dove, but he was a step late. Unfortunate.]
Heo's face tightened.
The original plan had been to hold a clean sheet in the first half and bring Ho-young on in the second to turn the match around.
It depended on how long the others could hold out.
Unfortunately, they failed to withstand Ghana's assault.
And it did not seem likely to stop there.
Park Ji-seok dropped deeper into midfield to help, improving things slightly, but Ghana's momentum did not fade.
Around the 35th minute of the first half.
"This won't do."
He could not wait any longer.
Growing anxious, Heo turned toward the bench.
His gaze stopped on Ho-young.
We need to change the atmosphere first.
Ho-young was not at perfect condition, but the injury itself had healed.
In fact, the specialist had said he could play a full match if necessary.
He had been left out of the starting lineup purely for conditioning.
Heo spoke quietly.
"Ho-young."
"Yes."
"How is your body?"
"Good."
"Then warm up. Ghana look fatigued."
"Understood."
As Ho-young rose from the bench, the atmosphere in the stadium shifted instantly.
(To be continued.)