The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, has taken the lead to regain the top of the Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years.
The team departed from Incheon International Airport to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday night. After finishing adaptation training and warm-up matches in Abu Dhabi, the team will head to Qatar on Tuesday, the site of the final match.
16 domestic players who finished their K-League schedules and overseas players who finished the first half of the year were called to hotels in downtown Seoul from the 26th of last month to conduct indoor training.
Players from overseas leagues, including Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), will join the team’s Abu Dhabi in the morning of March 3. Lee Kang-in (Saint-Germain in Paris) will play a Super Cup match against Toulouse on March 3 and arrive on March 4.
Korean soccer had never won the Asian Cup championship. The team won the first Asian Cup championship in 1956 and the second event in 1960, but has never won the title since then. The results did not match the dominance of Asian soccer.
We have done our best to renew our commitment to win the title in 64 years. We will challenge to win the title by banking on players who have established themselves as top players in European leagues, including Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton).
Korea, which belongs to Group E, will play against Bahrain (15th), Jordan (20th), and Malaysia (25th), respectively. If Korea ranks first in Group E, it will face second in Group D, which also includes Japan, Indonesia, Iraq and Vietnam, in a tournament.
“I will prepare well to lift the Asian Cup with the people for the first time in 64 years,” Klinsmann said at the departure ceremony ahead of his departure, adding, “I hope to see you in good shape and performance in six weeks.”
Kim Min-jae, who won the Korea Football Association (KFA) Player of the Year Award in 2023, said, “The goal of the Asian Cup is to win,” adding, “Our strikers are scoring every game because they are so good, so I think the defenders should focus more.” 헤라카지노
Veteran midfielder Lee Jae-sung (Mints) said, “I think this Qatar Asian Cup is not our only challenge, but a challenge that has been going on for 64 years,” and vowed, “I will definitely come back with the trophy in Qatar.”