Kim Min-jae throws boots after Venezuela draw: 'not one team'

📰 Kim Min-jae threw his boots and spoke out after the draw with Venezuela, putting the mood in the Korea camp under scrutiny. Without Kim, Korea beat Uzbekistan 2-0. 📌 Key points 🏟️ Korea drew 0-0 with Venezuela in Ulsan on 2 October. 👟 Kim Min-jae threw his boots on the bench after being substituted. 🗣️ Kim said: "It didn't feel like we were fighting as one team." 🧢 Coach Moreno said: "Problems inside the team are solved inside." 🩹 Kim missed the Uzbekistan match on the 6th, and Korea won 2-0. 📝 What happened 🏟️ Korea, led by interim coach Roberto Moreno, drew 0-0 with FIFA 47th-ranked Venezuela at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium on 2 October. Korea were actually second best on shots, with 7 to Venezuela's 12. 👟 Defensive linchpin Kim Min-jae was substituted in the second half and threw the boots he had taken off on the bench. According to the JoongAng Daily, he came off in the 80th minute. After the match he said: "It was a game where we needed a turnaround, so it's disappointing we couldn't get the result," and "It didn't feel like the whole team was fighting together." 🧢 Coach Moreno acknowledged there were issues within the squad but drew a line, saying: "My principle is that what happens inside the team is resolved inside the team." Captain Son Heung-min reportedly acknowledged the burden on the defenders and said every line had to make sacrifices together. 🩹 Kim then missed team training two days running, doing only indoor recovery work. A team official explained it was not a serious injury but fatigue from recent matches. In the end he did not play against Uzbekistan in Yongin on 6 October. Kim Tae-hyeon and Lee Han-beom started at centre-back, and Korea won 2-0 with a clean sheet thanks to Son Heung-min's free-kick, his 59th international goal, and an Oh Se-hun header. 📊 By the numbers • Shots v Venezuela: Korea 7, Venezuela 12 • v Uzbekistan: Korea won 2-0 (Kim Min-jae absent) • Moreno's four-match run: W2 D1 L1 (Ecuador 3-0 W, Uruguay 1-4 L, Venezuela 0-0, Uzbekistan 2-0 W) 🔭 Why it matters Some analysts read Kim's actions less as a complaint against the coach and more as a challenge to the team's defensive structure. A clean-sheet win over Uzbekistan without him has calmed things for now, but how the publicly aired frustration is dealt with remains a task before the November camp.