Korea Advances to Round of 16 with Defensive Concerns

After finishing second in the group, they progressed to the round of 16, conceding the most goals with 6 goals in the round of 16, Son Heung-min said in response to fans’ criticism of an ‘unstable defence’ , Opta said, “Japan still in first place with an 18% chance of winning.”

Korean football will face Saudi Arabia in the round of 16, the first round of the Asia Cup tournament. Korea, ranked 23rd in the FIFA rankings, drew 3-3 in the third final Group E match of the Qatar Asian Cup group stage against Malaysia (130th) on the 25th, resulting in 1 win, 2 draws (5 points), and 2nd place in Group 2. Having reached the round of 16. In Group E, Bahrain (2 wins, 1 loss, 6 points) came first.

Korea will compete with Saudi Arabia, who took first place in Group F, to advance to the quarterfinals at 1 am on the 31st. Saudi Arabia recorded 2 wins and 1 draw (7 points) in the group stage. Scored 4 goals and conceded 1 goal in 3 games. Saudi Arabia, which is ranked 56th in the FIFA rankings, has won the Asian Cup three times in total. He is second in this category after Japan, the country with the most wins (4 times). In Saudi Arabia, all 26 players in this tournament play in their own league. Saudi captain and midfielder Salem Al Dausari was named third in the ‘Top 10 Players to Watch’ by Qatari media ahead of the opening of this tournament, following Korean national team captain Son Heung-min and central defender Kim Min-jae. The historical record between Korea and Saudi Arabia is 5 wins, 8 draws, and 5 losses.

Korea, who are challenging for their first Asian Cup title in 64 years, must solve their ‘defensive anxiety’. Korea, who conceded six goals in each of the three group games, are the team with the most goals conceded along with Indonesia among the nations advancing to the round of 16. Indonesia (1 win, 2 losses, 3 points), led by coach Shin Tae-yong, is 3rd in Group D and has progressed to the round of 16, competing with Australia (2 wins, 1 draw, 7 point), 1st place in Group B, to progress to the quarter-finals. The six goals conceded are also the most goals conceded in the history of the Korean Asian Cup group stage. Son Heung-min, as captain, came to the defense as some of the national team players were heavily criticized by fans because of their performance that did not meet expectations in the group stage. After the match against Malaysia, Son Heung-min said, “I hope we protect the players instead of shaking them. Athletes have families and colleagues. “We will continue to work hard and do our best.”

Korea’s defensive line was shaky and looked disorganized in all three group stage matches. It has been 44 years since 1980 that Korean football conceded three goals to Malaysia. Kim Min-jae, regarded as the world’s top-level full-back, is holding his own, but gaps have been revealed in moves that were promised as cover play. In this situation, Korean national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann (pictured) said about the 3-3 draw with Malaysia, “To give an overall opinion, it was a very exciting game. “A total of 6 goals were scored, including Malaysia’s goal at the end of the second half,” he said, drawing the ire of Korean soccer fans. After being appointed as the head coach of the Korean national team in February last year, Coach Klinsmann faced increasing criticism from football fans for failing to win five games in a row (3 draws, 2 losses), saying , “Asian Cup is our test . “If you don’t get the results you want (in the Asia Cup), it’s not too late to criticize and criticize.”

It was fortunate that Hwang Hee-chan and Kim Jin-soo, who were unable to play in the first and second group matches due to injuries, played as substitutes in the second half of the third match against Malaysia. In particular, left-back Kim Jin-su is expected to help strengthen flank defense and counter-attacks, which have been identified as destabilizing factors. Kim Jin-su, a left-back, is a player who is rated as having the same offensive power as a winger due to his excellent crossing ability and accurate crosses.

As Korea, considered a candidate to win this tournament along with Japan, performed poorly in the group stage, sports statistics company Opta lowered Korea’s chances of winning. After all the countries that progressed to the round of 16 were selected, Korea came 5th overall with 11% in the probability of winning predicted by Opta through supercomputer simulation. Before the competition opened, Korea’s probability of winning was 14.3%, second only to Japan (24.6%). Japan, which passed the group stage in second place (2 wins, 1 loss, 6 points), was still in first place, although its winning probability was reduced to 18.2%. The United Arab Emirates, led by coach Paulo Bento, who was the head coach of the Korean national team during the Qatar 2022 World Cup, has also advanced to the round of 16.

Doha = Correspondent Kim Bae-joong wanted@donga.com
Reporter Kang Hong-gu windup@donga.com

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