Sean: “I would like to applaud the Palestinians, we can learn from them”

Its leader, Sean Heung-min, knit the national’s praise after the tie (1–1) to Amman on Tuesday (19/11) in the third phase of the World Cup qualifiers in Asia. Sean tied the score for South Korea in the 16th minute, responding to Zeid Kunbar’s 6–1 goal that gave Palestine the lead. The Palestinians… failed the Koreans and with their 0–0 tie in their previous September Seoul qualifying match, with Mcram Daboob’s team still standing despite the Gaza war. “I would like to applaud them,” said Sean about the Palestinians, who were forced to play in neutral Amman because of the ongoing security situation. “I think they were very well prepared despite being in such a difficult situation and performing their plans very well. That’s something we can learn from them. I am disappointed that we did not win and I hope we will play better next year,” he added. The tie ended South Korea’s four consecutive wins streak in the qualifiers, but Hong Myung-bo’s team remains on track to move on to the World Cup finals with a three-point lead against the second Iraq in the 2nd group. The Palestine team is in the last position of the group. The first two teams in each of the three Asian teams in the qualifiers qualify automatically for the World Cup and South Korea tries to qualify for 11th consecutive event.