Korean national soccer team. Yonhap News Saudi Arabia. Yonhap News The status of Korean soccer has fallen. It became a laughingstock at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup.
The national team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, will face Saudi Arabia in the round of 16 at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, at 1 a.m. on the 31st (Korean time).
Korea, which ranks 23rd in the FIFA rankings, is considered to be one step above Saudi Arabia, which ranks 56th. But that doesn’t seem to be the case in this competition.
Saudi Arabia’s final training for the round of 16 was held at the Espire Training Center in Qatar on the 29th. On this day, Saudi Arabia completed the training normally with all 26 entries attending.
On this day, most of the Saudi reporters were at the training site, and the only Korean reporters were from one or two media outlets, including our newspaper.
Saudi reporters asked Korean reporters, “Are you Korean?” and then asked, “Who do you think will win, Korea or Saudi Arabia?” When our reporter responded, “It’s unpredictable,” the Saudi reporter laughed and said, “I think Saudi Arabia will win with a 90% chance.”
This is not just a joke, but a remark that shows no respect for the other person. Saudi reporters casually asked such rude questions at press conferences.
Saudi reporters gathered at the training ground. Nocut News Saudi Arabia ahead of the round of 16 against Korea. Nocut News Previously, Korea recorded 1 win, 2 draws, and 5 points in Group E of the group stage, and advanced to the round of 16 in second place in the group.
However, they showed signs of struggling against teams with much lower FIFA rankings. In particular, in the third game against Malaysia, ranked 130th, the weakest team, they ended up with a 3-3 draw.
If Korea ranked first in the group and advanced to the round of 16, it would face Japan, second in Group D. The two teams are considered strong candidates for the championship in this competition.
However, when Korea tied with Malaysia and finished second in the group, Saudi reporters mockingly asked coach Klinsmann, “Was it a strategy to avoid Japan?”
To this, Coach Klinsmann replied, “I had no intention of avoiding Japan. I said that we would definitely go up to first place in the group,” and added, “I think the result is quite unfortunate.”
Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan HD), who attended the press conference with Coach Klinsmann, also raised his voice, saying, “We have never wanted to meet anyone or thought about avoiding them,” and added, “I think we will be able to overcome anyone we meet.”
Ahead of the match against Saudi Arabia, Coach Klinsmann said, “I am not afraid of anyone,” and “I respect my opponent.” This can be interpreted as a statement demanding respect for the Saudi media’s rude attitude.
Korea is attempting to win its first championship in 64 years since 1960 with its best ever team, including Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain).
We met Saudi Arabia at the first hurdle of the tournament on our way to victory. It remains to be seen whether Saudi Arabia’s rude attitude can be repaid with victory.
2024-01-29 21:08:40
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