Hong: Ghana defeat a distant memory

South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo insists his players are over the disappointment of Monday’s 4-0 friendly defeat to Ghana.

The Asian nation head into their FIFA World Cup opener against Russia on the back of a heavy defeat in Miami, which saw Jordan Ayew net a hat-trick.

However, at his press conference in Brazil before South Korea’s first practice session in Foz do Iguacu, Hong denied his charges were psychologically wounded by the result.

“We left our disappointments back in Miami as we departed for Brazil,” he said. “Obviously, we were down on ourselves because we didn’t play quite as we wanted to, but there’s no lingering feeling of a let-down on this team.

“We’re going to have to bear down and concentrate harder than before.

“I think we have enough time to address our issues, and you don’t need to worry about the team’s morale at this point.

“Our players must develop a better recognition of the type of football we’re supposed to play.

“If we’d had a player who could control the match (against Ghana), maybe we wouldn’t have given up additional goals after going down 2-0. But it wasn’t just due to lack of any one player. Our team as a whole lost its focus.”

South Korea open their Group H campaign against Russia on Tuesday, before tackling Africa’s top-ranked side Algeria and wrapping up their group games against Belgium.