The Korean national team led by Coach Klinsmann, who confirmed its advance to the round of 16, will play its final group match against Malaysia, which is considered one level lower. Korea, which is ahead in overall performance in objective terms, needs to check set piece and side attacks, which were pointed out in the previous two matches.
South Korea’s national soccer team, led by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, will play its final third match of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup Group E at Al-Zanup Stadium in Alwakra, Qatar, at 8:30 p.m. on the 25th (Korea time).
South Korea confirmed its advance to the round of 16 early as Indonesia lost in the match between Japan and Indonesia the day before.
Even if South Korea, which currently has one win and one draw (4 points), loses to Malaysia, it will reach the round of 16 by beating Indonesia (3 points) and China (2 points).
Therefore, the match against Malaysia will allow South Korea to play with the lightest mind in this tournament.
It is less burdensome, but we still need a win. If we rise to the top of the group, we will face off against Japan, which is a tough match, but if the final group match is not good, it could lead to a serious atmosphere throughout the tournament.
Qatar, Iran and Iraq, which advanced to the round of 16 by garnering two consecutive wins early on, took the lead in the final match. Notably, Korea only had a 2-2 draw after a rough-and-ready match against Jordan, and hence the mood should rebound. Victory is the best medicine that can change the tide.
There is another reason why Korea cannot play lightly against Malaysia. This is because it is the last test stage to solve the tasks that have been pointed out as problems for Korea. In the tournament, tests can no longer be conducted because one mistake can lead to defeat and elimination.
The biggest problem for Korea at this year’s event is its set piece defense. Korea, which had loopholes in set piece defense against Bahrain several times, lost the momentum by allowing an equalizer with set piece in the match against Jordan.
Malaysia is well equipped with set piece tactics including throw-ins and corner kicks. Although the team has no goal yet, it created a threatening scene against Jordan and Bahrain earlier.
“I analyzed Malaysia, and they produce a lot of threatening scenes in corner kicks and set pieces. I will refine my set piece tactics through last training,” Klinsmann said.
In addition, the combination of sides and destructive power can be checked in the actual matches. In order to penetrate the concentrated opponent defense in the past two games, South Korea’s Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) have aggressively targeted both sides to create four goals.
Considering that the defense of the teams to face in the tournament is stronger, it is necessary to further increase the destructive power of the side. “Players who are checked by the opponent, such as Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in, have to deal with it by moving wide to the side,” manager Klinsmann said, leaving open the possibility of Son Heung-min’s side transfer, which was placed in the center for the past two consecutive games. As Lee Kang-in is guarding the right side, Son Heung-min is likely to be placed on the familiar left side.
In addition, he needs to find a defender who can play with Son on the left side. Currently, Lee Ki-je (Suwon FC) and Kim Jin-su (Jeonbuk FC) cannot play in the match against Malaysia due to injury. He also cannot guarantee his participation in the round of 16, the first game of the tournament. 헤라카지노도메인
Seol Young-woo (Ulsan), Hong Hyun-suk (Hent), and Lee Soon-min (Daejeon) can play as left defenders, but they have little experience working with Son. The match against Malaysia will also provide time to find a partner to play in the left side of the team.