The South Korean national soccer team achieved its first win since the appointment of coach Klinsmann with Cho Kyu-sung’s winning goal.
The Korean national soccer team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, won 1-0 thanks to Cho Gyu-sung’s first goal in the 32nd minute of the first half in a friendly match against the Saudi Arabian national soccer team held at St. James Park in Newcastle, England, on the 13th (Korean time).
Things are not going well in Korea recently. There have been no wins in five consecutive games since Coach Klinsmann took office. This is the record for the most wins by a foreign coach in Korean soccer history. There were changes in Korea’s starting lineup compared to the last match against Wales. Hwang Hee-chan was named to replace Hong Hyun-seok, who was selected to the Asian Games national team.
South Korea came out with a 4-4-2 pattern. Son Heung-min and Cho Gyu-seong took on the top two. In the midfield, Hwang Hee-chan, Park Yong-woo, Hwang In-beom, and Lee Jae-seong played. Lee Ki-je, Kim Min-jae, Jeong Seung-hyun, and Seol Young-woo worked together on defense. Seung-gyu Kim wore the goalkeeper gloves.
Saudi Arabia is also not doing well recently. No wins in the last 5 games. He has 4 goals and 11 conceded goals in 5 games. Even after coach Roberto Mancini took office, they suffered two consecutive losses. Both teams were in desperate need of a win.카지노
Saudi Arabia used a 4-3-3 formation. Salem al-Dosari, Abdullah al-Hamdan and Abdullahan Gharib were launched in the attack. Nasser Al Dosari, Mohammed Kanno, and Abdullah Al Khaibari stood in the midfield. The back four consisted of Yasser Al Shahrani, Ali Al Bulahi, Hassan Al Tambakhti, and Saud Abdulhamid. The goalkeeper was Mohammed Al Owais.
As soon as the game started, Saudi Arabia applied strong pressure. Korea attacked using a long ball, but soon lost the ball. Saudi Arabia shot in the 2nd minute of the first half, but the Korean defense blocked it with their bodies. Korea immediately launched a counterattack, but Jae-sung Lee’s heel pass was blocked and the attack failed.
Korea took the opportunity. In the 3rd minute of the first half, Hwang In-beom headed to the goal with a defender and gave a pass to Cho Kyu-seong. Cho Gyu-seong fired a shot, but missed the goal. Korea tried the promised tactic in the following corner kick, but Hwang Hee-chan’s shot hit the Saudi defense.
Both teams traded attacks. In the 5th minute of the first half, Hwang In-beom passed to Lee Jae-seong, and Lee Jae-seong passed to Son Heung-min who was penetrating. However, when Jae-seong Lee received the ball, his position was offside. A crisis has arrived. While handling the ball in the 6th minute of the first half, the signs of goalkeepers Kim Seung-gyu and Jeong Seung-hyun did not match. Saudi Al Hamdan almost caught the ball in front of an empty goal, but Seung-gyu Kim managed to block it.
In the 8th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min connected with Lee Ki-je from a free kick situation. Lee Ki-je tried to shoot, but it went wide of the goal. In the 11th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min fired a surprise mid-range shot, but it headed directly at the goalkeeper. As Korea’s shooting increased, Saudi Arabia reorganized its line by moving the ball from behind.
In the middle of the first half, Korea’s pass misses increased. Taking advantage of this gap, the Saudi attack began. In the 17th minute of the first half, Al Hamdan volleyed an Al Shahrani cross, but it was not hit properly. Saudi Arabia had a good free kick opportunity in front of the penalty box. Nasser Al Dosari’s left-footed free kick went directly toward Kim Seung-gyu.
Korea showed a good passing play. In the 21st minute of the first half, Lee Jae-seong received a pass from Park Yong-woo and sent a forward pass to Son Heung-min. Son Heung-min attempted a cross from the right, but it went over the goal. Saudi Arabia also threatened the Korean goal. In the 25th minute of the first half, Kim Seung-gyu faced a 1-on-1 situation with the opposing attacker, but blocked it.
The first goal was Korea’s responsibility. In the 32nd minute of the first half, the ball cleared by the opposing defense was headed to Cho Gyu-seong. Jo Gyu-seong pushed the ball into his head to go ahead 1-0. Cho Kyu-seong scored his first goal under Coach Klinsmann.
Korea’s attack survived. In the 34th minute of the first half, Cho Kyu-sung stole the opponent’s ball after pressing forward and then passed it to Son Heung-min. Son Heung-min was tripped by a defender in the penalty box, but the referee declared a corner kick. In the 37th minute of the first half, Park Yong-woo sent an early cross from the right side. Jo Gyu-seong put his foot in front of the goalkeeper.
Hwang Hee-chan received the first warning of the game. In the 38th minute of the first half, he made a rather rough tackle on the opposing defender and earned a yellow card. Korea took the opportunity to score an additional goal. In the 40th minute of the first half, Hwang Hee-chan’s shot was saved by the opposing goalkeeper. Afterwards, Lee Jae-seong finished the second ball, but was blocked again by a good save. The first half ended with Korea leading 1-0.
At the start of the second half, Saudi Arabia used the substitution card. Gharib left and Alburaikan came in. Korea aimed for an additional goal. In the first minute of the second half, Lee Jae-seong crossed from the right, but it was not connected.
In the second minute of the second half, Lee Jae-seong received Son Heung-min’s pass and shot in front of the goalkeeper, but it was blocked. In the 9th minute of the second half, Hwang Hee-chan shot past a defender inside the penalty box, but the goalkeeper made a save with his foot.
Korea also overcame the crisis. In the 16th minute of the second half, Al Hamdan hit a shot after penetrating the goal, but it was offside. Saudi Arabia proceeded with the replacement again. In the 20th minute of the second half, Ali Hazazi and Bam Saud came on to replace Al Kaibari and Abdul Hamid.
Korea also made changes. In the 22nd minute of the second half, Cho Gyu-seong and Hwang Hee-chan left, and Hwang Ui-jo and Moon Seon-min played. Korea was unable to create any notable scenes due to poor detail in the attack work. In the 35th minute of the second half, Al Dosari shot inside the penalty box, but was blocked by Lee Ki-je’s hand-to-hand defense.
In the 33rd minute of the second half, Hwang Ui-jo’s cross passed the opposing defender and was connected to Moon Seon-min. Moon Seon-min attempted a shot in front of the goal, but it did not result in a goal. There were also dizzying scenes. During the defense process in the 40th minute of the second half, Jeong Seung-hyun’s clearance went to the side of the Korean goal.
In the extra time of the second half, Korea’s Oh Hyun-gyu and Lee Sun-min took the field in place of Son Heung-min and Hwang In-beom. Just before the end of the game, Saudi Arabia’s Al Bisi fired a winning shot, but it cut wide open the air. The game ended 1-0 with no additional goals.
With this victory, Coach Klinsmann recorded his first win since taking office as the Korean national team. It has been about six months since Klinsmann Hog’s first game, a match against Colombia (2-2). After the first match, Korea lost 1-2 to Uruguay and 0-1 to Peru. They even drew with El Salvador, whose skills were one level lower. At the time, El Salvador was the 75th ranked team in FIFA rankings.
In the last match against Wales, the team ended in a draw due to a lethargic performance. The Wales game was also a poor performance. The players played hard, but were unable to display their skills due to mismatched positions and roles.
Although they won this match against Saudi Arabia after many twists and turns, their performance was not good. There were many missed passes in the midfield area. As a result, he brought himself into crisis several times. Organizational skills are lacking.
There is also a reason why Korean soccer fans feel more upset. ‘Fated Rival’ Japan’s recent momentum is good. During the international match period this September, they defeated Germany (4-1) and Turkye (4-2). The performance was also quite good. Japan is on a 4-game winning streak in the last 4 games. So far, 18 goals have been scored. On the other hand, Klinsmann, who declared attacking soccer, scored only 4 goals in 6 games. There was only one victory.
I also think of Bento, the former coach. Coach Bento was appointed as the head coach of the Republic of Korea national team in August 2018 and will be in charge of Korea until December 2022. Over a period of approximately 4 years and 4 months, Korea achieved achievements such as advancing to the World Cup finals for the 10th consecutive time and advancing to the round of 16 of the 2022 FIFA Qatar World Cup.
Coach Bento, who took over as coach of the United Arab Emirates after his contract with Korea ended, met Costa Rica in a friendly match in September held at Stadiun Maksimir in Zagreb, Croatia on the 13th (Korean time) and won 4-1. The atmosphere is particularly shaky in Korea.
Meanwhile, the Korean national soccer team is scheduled to face Tunisia (8 p.m. on the 13th, Seoul Sangam World Cup Stadium) and Vietnam (8 p.m. on the 17th, Suwon World Cup Stadium) during the A-match period in October.