Director Klinsmann smiles. Yonhap News The status of Korean soccer has fallen. Nowadays, it is difficult to be called the ‘Asian Tiger’ anymore.
The national soccer team led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann drew 3-3 with Malaysia in the final third match of Group E of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup held at Al Janoub Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on the 25th (Korean time).
Korea’s goal, having already confirmed its advancement to the round of 16, was first place in the group. Although they had the same number of points as first-place Jordan, they were in second place, trailing by two goals in goal difference. Accordingly, they aimed for a multiple-score victory against Malaysia.
If they advanced to the round of 16 by finishing first in their group, they would face their archenemy Japan, second in Group D. However, due to the draw on this day, they finished the group stage in second place with only 5 points (1 win, 2 draws) and will meet Saudi Arabia, first place in Group F.
Malaysia, the opponent in the third game, is ranked 130th in the FIFA rankings, a whopping 107 places lower than Korea, which is 23rd, and is considered the ‘weakest’. In addition, they were defeated in both the first and second group matches, preventing them from advancing to the round of 16.
However, Korea struggled against Malaysia. They gave up as many as three goals and ended up with a draw against Malaysia, who had lost without scoring in both of the last two games. Considering that the opponent was the weakest, the result was no different from defeat.
It was a completely unexpected result for overseas media. At the same time, in another match in Group E of the group stage, Jordan, who was in first place, lost 0-1 to Bahrain, so if Korea won regardless of goal difference, they could rise to first place in the group.
Lee Jae-seong ‘It’s disappointing’. Yonhap News After the shocking draw, a foreign reporter asked at the post-game press conference, “Was it a strategy to avoid Japan?”
If a draw was held to avoid Japan, it would be tantamount to match-fixing. However, Korea really struggled against Malaysia, and ended up with a hard-fought draw.
The foreign reporter’s question was a criticism of Korea’s performance in a sarcastic tone. Although Korea boasts the best power of all time with Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), this means that they are no longer a contender for the championship.
Director Klinsmann, who was asked this question, did not feel any discomfort at all. Rather, he simply smiled and replied, “I have no intention of avoiding Japan.” He said, “We talked about making sure we go to first place in the group,” and “I think the result is quite unfortunate.”
At a press conference the day before the game, Coach Klinsmann was asked, “Are you afraid of meeting Japan?” and gave the same answer. The fact that this question has already been asked twice shows that the status of Korean soccer has fallen significantly.
Korea enters the tournament evaluated as having played the worst game in the group stage. A rebound is desperately needed in the round of 16 against Saudi Arabia on the 31st.
2024-01-27 00:13:23
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