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ASEAN’s Dream for the World Cup
By_ Lee Hyuk, 4th Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre

In the 2022 FIFA rankings, South Korea is ranked 29th, Japan 23rd, and China 77th. Of the 10 ASEAN countries, only VietNam (96th) is ranked within the top 100, and Thailand, traditionally the strongest of the ASEAN nations, is currently No. 111.

However, it is worth noting that VietNam bested Thailand to advance to the final qualifier in the Asian region. The success is in no small part thanks to Park Hang-seo. In 2017, when I was serving as Korean ambassador to Viet Nam, Park became the head coach of the Vietnamese national team. Under his leadership, the team achieved impressive results, such as winning the ASEAN Cup, which turned Park into a hero in VietNam.

When VietNam bested Thailand and reached the final regional qualifier in Asia, the Thai team was helmed by Nishino Akira, a former player and head coach of the Japanese national team. Therefore, matches between Coach Park’s VietNam side and Coach Nishino’s Thailand team somewhat resembled a match between Korea and Japan, making the fact that VietNam, rather than Thailand, advanced to the next round all the more meaningful. The “hallyu”of football, sparked by Coach Park, is creating a big splash in ASEAN.

In his footsteps, Shin Tae-yong is currently leading the Indonesian team and Kim Pan-gon is heading the Malaysian side. It goes without saying that Son Heung-min has long been a superstar of the football-loving ASEAN people. His popularity helped trigger the fervor for learning Korean-style football.

The day will surely come when ASEAN countries’football teams qualify for the World Cup. With their passion for football, the players’desire for new achievements, and ground breaking programs training excellent players, I am sure that before long, ASEAN countries will excel, and the seeds for that future are sown all over the ASEAN region by Korean coaches.