Asian Cup Hwang Hee-chan, First Appearance After Shaking Off Injury, "I'm in Good Shape... I Need Results Now"
Substitute for Cho Gue-sung in the 17th minute of the second half of the Malaysian game.
Attack point fails.
‘Bull’ Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), who had been on the bench due to treatment for left hip muscle pain, finally returned to the ground, but was unable to achieve the ‘two birds with one stone’ of achieving attack points and winning the game. 안전놀이터
Hwang Hee-chan replaced Cho Gue-sung (Midtjylland) in the 17th minute of the second half of the final match of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup Group E Group 3 match against Malaysia held at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar on the 25th (Korean time).
Before the opening of this tournament, Hwang Hee-chan, who felt discomfort in his hip muscles, missed both the first and second group matches, and entered the field for the first time as a substitute in the third match against Malaysia.
Hwang Hee-chan, who scored 10 goals in the English Premier League (EPL) this season, was expected to play a big role as Klinsmann-ho's 'signature winger', but due to an unexpected injury, he had to focus only on recovery.
Hwang Hee-chan was brought on in the 17th minute of the second half when the national team was down 1-2 and focused on attacking the side, but failed to achieve an attack point and had to watch the game end in a 3-3 draw.
Hwang Hee-chan, who met with reporters in the common reporting area after the game, said, “It is true that we are very disappointed because it was an unexpected result,” and added, “But since our first goal was to advance to the round of 16, I think we did well in that regard without any doubt.” revealed.
He continued, "Now that the tournament has started, good performance and results are important.
Now we must play games that bring results."
When asked about his current physical condition, he raised his voice and said, "I'm fine.
From now on, I have to play forward without having time to think about such things."
Regarding playing as a substitute, Hwang Hee-chan said, “I knew very well the role I had to play.
“Because we were losing, there was no time to think about anything else,” he said.
“The attitude of a substitute player is to attack and defend without stopping.”
He explained, "I tried to instill good atmosphere and energy in my colleagues."
Hwang Hee-chan responded to the point that 'there were few goals created through organizational skills', saying, "I don't understand this.
He said, “It was our fault that we got the foul and got that far,” adding, “You may feel that way because the results of the previous two games were not what we wanted.”
He added, “The moment has come where we have to take care of the result no matter what.”
The players know it well too.
“I can confidently say that we will show further improvement in the round 16,” he emphasized.