South Korea missed out on winning the group at the Asian Cup. Jürgen Klinsmann’s team is still one round ahead.
Coach Jürgen Klinsmann experienced a serious embarrassment with the South Korean national team at the Asian Cup and missed out on winning the group. At the end of the preliminary round, the two-time title winners against outsiders Malaysia were unable to score more than 3:3 (1:0) due to a very late goal. South Korea, which had already secured its place in the round of 16 before the game in Al-Wakrah in Qatar, only came second in Season E.
In the round of 16, Klinsmann’s team will now face Saudi Arabia. “The group phase is over and now the tournament really starts,” said the former national coach after the game. His team is “definitely” capable of winning the title, even if their performance “could be better.” Winning the group would have meant a meeting with tournament favorites Japan.
That’s how the game went
With five points, the 1956 and 1960 Asian champions finished behind Bahrain (6), which defeated previous leaders Jordan (4) 1-0 (1-0) in the parallel game. Jordan is also through as one of the four best third-place teams in the group. Woo-Yeong Jeong gave South Korea the lead (21′), the Stuttgart player headed in from a corner. Faisal Halim equalized in the second half (51st), both goals were awarded according to video evidence.
A little later there was the next video evidence and finally a penalty for Malaysia, Arif Aiman safely converted (62′). These were the underdog’s first goals in the tournament.
Due to the impending defeat, South Korea put a lot of pressure on and pushed for the equalizer, Kang-In Lee was successful with a remarkable free kick to make it 2-2 (83′). The former Hamburg and Leverkusen player Son (Tottenham Hotspur) took the lead late with a penalty kick (90+4) – again according to video evidence. When it looked like a victory for the South Koreans, Romel Morales equalized to 3:3 (90th + 15th).
Saudi Arabia secured group victory in Group F with a goalless draw against second-placed Thailand. Oman lost a late lead in the 1-1 (0-0) draw against Kyrgyzstan and thus the round of 16. Indonesia benefited from this and completed the field in the knockout phase via the third group table.