Lee Young-pyo, KBS football commentator. [Yonhap]
Lee Young-pyo, KBS football commentator. [Yonhap]

KBS football commentator Lee Young-pyo expressed disappointment over South Korea's defensive concentration despite the team's commanding victory over Qatar.

South Korea's men's football team, led by head coach Lee Min-sung, routed Qatar 4-1 in their first Group D match of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Tuesday, powered by a hat trick from Eom Ji-sung (Swansea City) and a clinching goal from Kim Myung-jun (Genk).

Speaking after the match, Lee praised the overall performance, saying "the game flowed the way coach Lee Min-sung wanted," but also flagged a problem that emerged when South Korea conceded in the second half.

"It is a shame that defensive concentration wavered after the substitutions," Lee said. "It is a chance to be reminded of the issue of momentary defensive lapses. The players seemed to feel a little satisfied being four goals ahead," he added.

However, Lee said the second match against Saudi Arabia "could be a slightly tougher game than the one against Qatar," while expressing confidence that "there should be no great difficulty in picking up three points." He expected the team to finish atop Group D with two consecutive wins.

South Korea's second Group D match kicks off at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.


min3654@heraldcorp.com