Jo was a surprise choice by coach Shin between the posts as the Daegu FC custodian picked up just his sixth cap for his national team ahead of more experienced duo Kim Seung-gyu and Kim Jin-hyeon.
Despite his relative inexperience, though, the 26-year-old shone in goal and made a string of saves that kept the Koreans in the game throughout the 90 minutes and he was only beaten by Andreas Granqvist’s 65th minute penalty.
“This was my first World Cup match and of course I felt some nerves,” said Jo. “But the fans back home cheered me on and my wife told me to just enjoy the game, so I had a lot of motivation and I was able to enjoy the experience.
“All three goalkeepers and the goalkeeper coach have been talking to each other about our opponents and analysing them, and I tried to perform in this game according to the analysis and discussions that we had.
“After a result like this, where we conceded a goal, I feel some regret but we’re going to try to do better in our next game and I believe that we can improve. I wanted to boost my colleagues from behind and I’m sorry I couldn’t do that.
“During the match I could hear the Korean fans cheering me throughout and that inspired me to do well. It was great. I’ve been trying to do my best and I was able to save most of the attempts. Never giving up is the most important thing.”
The Koreans had targeted taking three points from the Swedes in their opener before facing off against Mexico in their second Group F clash on Saturday. They will then complete their scheduled group games on June 27 when they take on world champions Germany.
The defeat means Shin’s side must pick up points from each of their remaining games to have any hope of progressing to the Round of 16 and Jo is confident the squad can raise themselves for the meeting with the Mexicans at the weekend.
“The players are all down and feeling pretty gloomy after today’s defeat, but I’m sure everyone in the squad, including the coaches, will try to make a good atmosphere around the team,” he said.
“We only have a few days until the Mexico game and if we prepare well I’m sure we can have a better performance. I think we have a chance to win against Mexico.”
Mexico’s 1-0 win over Germany, and the exciting football they played to claim all three points, has made Jo and his teammates sit and take notice of the Central American side.
“We had been focusing on the Sweden match, but last night we all gathered to watch the Germany vs Mexico game,” he said.
“Mexico’s counterattack was very good, very fast. We’re going to prepare for Mexico to play like that and I don’t think we’ll find it easy to score. The key point is to make the atmosphere brighter around the team.”
Sources: AFP, FIFA via Getty Images
Source: the-afc.com