Chapter 117
Translator 8uhl
Chapter 117
Chapter Title Crushing Denmark
Denmark hurriedly made substitutions before kickoff.
They had agreed to use all five substitution slots like in a competitive match ahead of this friendly, but Denmark used four cards at once.
They also switched their formation from 442 to 352.
It was a change clearly aimed at Taeyang.
Denmark first targeted Korea by leveraging their numerical superiority in midfield.
With more bodies, their passing flowed smoothly again, and Frederik Jansen started to run rampant.
But sending the ball all the way to Koreas backline wasnt easy.
Even though it looked like they were being dragged around, Kim Ho and Lee Hyunseok were doing everything to prevent the ball from going backward.
Denmark tries to advance the ball forward, but its not easy. Oh, Yoon Taeyang is dropping back.
Yoon Taeyang steps up in front of Frederik Jansen!
Frederik Jansen hesitated with the ball.
Taeyang set his stance and stared at Jansen. Jansen flinched for a moment but quickly hardened his expression.
Something squirmed up from inside him.
It was his competitive spirit.
Jansen was still too young to suppress it.
And so, Jansen charged at Taeyang, who was even younger than him, with the ball.
A 17yearold was putting on that kind of show against adultscould he not get past that one 17yearold?
He even had his own calculations.
How good could a forward really be at defending?
Frederik Jansen charged forward without hesitation.
Yoon Taeyang! Steals the ball!
He lost it far too easily.
Jansen was the type to dribble with the ball on the outside of his right foot.
When someone like that tried to go left, Taeyang could just swipe at it and take the ball.
Taeyang took possession and charged forward.
Two midfielders who had been supporting Jansen rushed at him.
Taeyang slowed down, then exploded with acceleration, breezing past them through the gap.
He made it look so effortless that you wondered why they couldnt stop him. Taeyang pushed further forward, creating cracks in the defensive line.
As soon as he spotted a defender stepping up to mark him, Taeyang slipped the ball behind him.
Jo Dongho darted into the space behind the defender and collected Taeyangs pass.
Now facing the goalkeeper oneonone.
Jo Dongho fired immediately.
Splash!
Goal! Its a goal! Jo Donghooooo! Gooooal!
Theyve taken the lead! 21st minute of the second half! South Korea surges ahead with Jo Donghos goal!
After scoring, Jo Dongho sprinted away, sliding into a celebration as the crowd roared.
Denmark was the one panicking after Jo Donghos goahead goal.
They couldnt afford not to be desperate, facing defeat against South Korea, whom theyd viewed as the underdogs at home.
Once the celebration ended and play restarted from kickoff, Denmark pushed everyone up the pitch, attacking South Korea ferociously.
Denmark is desperately trying to push the ball forward, but South Korea holds firm.
Both Kim Ho and Lee Hyunseok are starters in the Bundesliga. Theyre not the type to let anyone through easily!
The longer the game goes, the better their chemistry seems to get. Frederik Jansen is completely shut down by those twohe cant do a thing.
Denmark resisted, but they lost possession again in the end.
It was Woo Taehyun on the flank who stole it.
Woo Taehyun passed to Kim Ho, who sent it straight to Yoon Taeyang.
Taeyang took the ball and advanced.
As always, the Danish midfielders were pierced effortlessly by Taeyangs light footwork.
Maybe it was because hed been battling tooth and nail in the Premier League and Champions League, but here it felt like he could do anything.
As Taeyang slipped into the box, his teammates started moving.
What considerate players.
Every one of them was making runs into space or pulling defenders away to create openings.
No reason to hold back, then.
Taeyang exploited the gap opened by Park Mingyu and Jo Dongho.
A defender spotted him late and moved to block, but Taeyang feinted with a scissors dribble before sending the ball through the opponents legs with a free flap, facing the goal.
This time, Brørlik rushed out right in front of him.
The moment Taeyang saw Brørlik coming to meet him, he chipped it up lightly.
Brørlik smirked.
Hed anticipated a lob. He stopped in position to deal with it.
Brørliks face froze cold.
The ball Taeyang had chipped hadnt risen highit dropped just a few steps in front of him.
Even the lob was a feint.
Taeyang flashed a grin, chased down the ball, tapped it left, and went around.
With Brørlik rushing out, the goal yawned empty before him.
Taeyang teased Brørlik with a gentle tap into the net, then strolled back to the halfway line like he was on a walk.
Cheers from the Korean fans who had come to the stadium followed in his wake.
Unbelievable! Incredible! Is this Yoon Taeyang? The young player tearing up the Premier League delivers an astonishing debut in his Amatch!
Who could call this guy young?
Trailing 31, Denmark lost all motivation and focused solely on damage control, while South Korea made substitutions to test their domesticbased players potential.
Denmark, who had been so confident that stopping Yoon Taeyang alone would secure victory, knelt without being able to contain him.
Ibica Cup Denmark crushed 31 for a smooth start.
Yoon Taeyang 2 goals, 1 assist in debut masterclass!
The real deal, Yoon Taeyang.
Ibica Cup Yoon Taeyang is a special player.
Jo Dongho Yoon Taeyangs passes are on another level.
Yoon Taeyang Thrilled to perform for South Korea in my debut.
Man, it was electric every time Taeyang got the ball
First time watching a national team game and feeling this refreshed, like downing a soda
Brushing past two or three guys every touch was basically standard lol
He was absolutely insane
Cant believe that players one of ours...
Wonder how the next ones gonna go?
Netherlands gonna be tough?
Still, with Yoon Taeyang, Im hyped
The 31 victory drew the entire nations attention to the South Korean national team.
Taeyang was undeniably at the center.
People had desperately hoped the player sweeping the Premier League with Newcastle and crushing the Champions League would shine for the national teamand Taeyang delivered exactly that.
His skyrocketing popularity, already reaching for the heavens, now pierced the sky and shot toward the stars.
Hed become a national star with just one game.
Some might say how could one match do that, but thats how things were in South Korea right now.
Korea had produced countless sports stars, but public interest in the Olympics had cooled off at some point. Soccer and baseball, the nations beloved sports, no longer had players delivering worldclass performances in the big leagues like in the past.
Even the shining Park Mingyu felt lacking compared to past legends, leaving sports fans parched.
They yearned for someone beyond Cha Beomgon, who devastated Germany and still gets mentioned as a Frankfurt legend Park Jisong, the first Premier Leaguer who paved the way overseas by starring for Manchester United or Son Hongmin, the first Asian Premier League top scorer and Tottenham legend.
And then, like a miracle, Yoon Taeyang appeareda genius rated as one of a kind not just in Asia but worldwide. Itd be weirder if all the attention wasnt on him.
Now, the nations focus turned to the next match.
Up next the Netherlands, famous for their orange kits.
Ahead of this friendly, the Netherlands had called up mostly players in their early twenties.
Casual fans might say they were underrating Korea with a Bteam, but that wasnt the case.
Strangely, the Netherlands had a dearth of standout players in their midtwentiesa lost generation.
Because of that, even up to the 2034 World Cup, they relied heavily on 30something veterans, who gritted it out to the round of 16 before bowing out.
No one could curse those veterans who fought so hard.
Dutch fans worried about the future of their soccer.
But the soccer powerhouse Netherlands didnt stop there.
Talents poured out like magic.
Those were the twentyyearolds now in the national team pool.
Leading them like mentors were 30something veterans Ibrahim Sail, Julian Rihof, and Steven Bernard.
Overall, this was the Netherlands firstteam squad preparing for the next generation.
And even if they were young, they couldnt be dismissed.
Peter Bahir, starring for Dortmund since 19 with Premier League transfer rumors this season Michel Müller, drawing Premier League interest while playing in the Bundesliga the Ajax QuartetPuil Donk, Ken van Gool, Lynn van Belzen, and Milan Nihman.
Despite their youth, transfer links abounded as big leagues like the Premier League, Primera División, and Bundesliga eyed them for starting spots.
And truthfully, the Dutch league where most were starring couldnt be ignored.
In Korea, it was dismissed as a stepping stone to big clubs or a selling club for profits, but it ranked sixth in Europebehind England, Spain, France, Germany, and Italy.
The strongest league after the top five worldwideno one could underrate that level.
Big clubs even trusted and snatched talents from there because of how high the standard was.
Some thought they could compete since the Netherlands had flopped in the last World Cup, but true soccer fans wondered if even Yoon Taeyang flying solo could handle it.
Of course, opinions shifted a lot after seeing him carry the Denmark game alone.
Now, people were excited.
Could Yoon Taeyang conquer the Netherlands too?
Could soccer built around him topple Europe? That kind of hype.
And if he delivered?
People would naturally dream bigger.
South Korea hadnt advanced past the round of 16 since the 2002 World Cup semifinalcould they go higher? Recreate that magic?
On the flip side, some worried the young Taeyang might buckle under the pressure.
CHOOKTAEYANG
Photo Yoon Taeyang holding an orange
I like bananas more than oranges. Oranges make my mouth sour lol
...Guess its just overthinking.