Jordan declared the death of “zombie” South Korea, which had been dying throughout the tournament. South Korea, which was aiming to win the Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years, suffered a shock defeat by Jordan. Not only did it advance to the finals, but also the challenge of winning the championship went up in smoke. It was the result of being hit by a team that had the advantage of 3 wins and 3 draws against the opponent.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, played against Jordan in the semifinals of the 2023 AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Qatar Asian Cup at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayan at midnight on the 7th (Korea time). South Korea, which lost consecutive points to Yazan Al-Naimat in the 8th minute of the second half and Musa Al Tamari in the 21st minute of the second half, failed to overturn the two-point gap and ended the tournament with a 0-2 loss.
Korea displayed a lineup similar to that of the quarterfinal match against Australia. Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers/England), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz 05/Germany), and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain/France) led the offense in the second line with Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur/England).
Hwang In-beom (Tservena Zvezda/Serbia) and Park Yong-woo (Al Ain/UAE) were located in the midfield, while center backs Kim Young-kwon and Jung Seung-hyun (Ulsan HD), Seol Young-woo (Ulsan HD) and Kim Tae-hwan (Jeonbuk Hyundai) were located in the defensive line instead of Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich/Germany), who was absent due to accumulated warnings. Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan HD) defended the goal.
Within 20 seconds, Jordan had a chance to kick a corner. In the third minute of the first half, Nizar al-Rashdan’s powerful mid-range shot, which beat Hwang In-beom, narrowly missed the Korean goal. A minute later, Jordanian captain Ehsan Hadid attempted a threatening shot from a far right diagonal direction. A series of sharp shots left Korea in the blood.
In the 15th minute of the first half, South Korea received its first warning. Hwang In-beom’s attempt to cut off the opponent’s ball was recorded as a warning. Jordan won a free kick. It was fortunate that he did not give up a threatening chance. Jordan continued to attack. Noor al-Rawabde’s shot, which pushed the Korean defense line as hard as he could, aimed at the Korean goal, but Cho Hyun-woo’s good defense saved the team.
Son Heung-min jumped the ball high after confirming that the opposing goalkeeper had emptied the goal in the 17th minute of the first half. Instead of scoring, offside was declared. In the 23rd minute of the first half, Son Heung-min became the starting point of the attack and created an opportunity. Hwang In-beom received the pass Son Heung-min put in from the middle and handed it to the left, and Seol Young-woo’s cross headed to the gate. Lee Kang-in hit the ball that fell off the opponent’s defense, but it went over the goal.
In the 25th minute of the first half, Yazan Al-Naimat made a shot of remorse after he went up between the defense. Once again, goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo blew himself to the left and blocked it. Al-Rawabde’s cross went straight to Al-Naimat, but the shot with a high leg lifted came up. Jordan’s offensive continued like a storm. Al Tamari’s shot, which dribbled from the right, slightly crossed the goal 헤라카지노도메인.
Korea has an attacking opportunity. Hwang Hee-chan → Lee Kang-in → Seol Young-woo, penetrated the left side with a linked play. Seol Young-woo and Jordan defender Yazan Abu Arab stepped on their feet in the box, but the referee resumed the game after checking the VAR. Then, in the 31st minute of the first half, Lee Jae-sung, who received Son Heung-min’s pass, hit a shot from the center, but it came out of the net.
Following Al-Naimat’s shot in the 40th minute of the first half, a minute later, after an attack that started with Al-Naimat, there was a chaos at the gate. In the process of blocking Al-Naimat’s shot, Cho Hyun-woo was in pain for a while after being hit by the ball in the face.
Korea added 45 minutes to the extra time of 5 minutes, and failed to properly play Jordan for 50 minutes. At the end of the extra time, Hwang In-beom sent Seol Young-woo’s cross flying from the left into the air, ending the first half. Jordan also took more than 55 percent of the ball success rate, while Jordan also dominated Korea in competition success rate, cross accuracy, and the number of shots (12:4). In the atmosphere where Korea was losing ground, the first half ended 0-0.
The whistle blew to announce the second half. Beside the bench in Korea were Kim Jin-su, Jung Woo-young, Hong Hyun-suk, Lee Soon-min and Cho Kyu-sung. Jordan formed a formation of 5-4-1 in the second half to defend the team. Jordan, which drove Korea with strong physical strength, strength and speed in the first half, got off to seek a counterattack. Korea had to find a space to break through its dense defense.
Jordan’s strategy worked. In the eighth minute of the second half, Al-Naimat quickly counterattacked and floated it over Cho’s head to score a goal. Manager Klinsmann called in Park Yong-woo and deployed Cho Kyu-sung, who was waiting, in the 11th minute of the second half, right after the loss.
In the 18th minute of the second half, Cho Hyun-woo’s good defense saved Korea. Musa Al Tamari’s shot upward was blocked from losing a point. Again, Cho Hyun-woo’s punching escaped the crisis in the corner kick chance. In the 21st minute of the second half, additional runs were scored, and the victory was completely tilted toward Jordan. Al Tamari, who dribbled from the right, penetrated the Korean net. It was a moment when Jordan tried to shoot boldly from the first half.
The next replacement came only after the 36th minute of the second half. Yang Hyun-joon and Jung Woo-young went in, and Lee Jae-sung and Hwang Hee-chan were replaced. At the end of the second half, Seol Young-woo and Lee Kang-in targeted Jordan’s goal several times, but it was not enough to break through the dense defense. In the 42nd minute of the second half, Cho Kyu-sung entered in a rush and missed a one-on-one chance with the goalkeeper. Cho Kyu-sung, who tripped over Jordanian defender Barra Maray’s foot, was warned for a bad simulation.
Eight minutes of added time flew by. Korea failed to break Jordan’s defense. 0-2 defeat. Korea, which lost for the first time to Jordan, ended its bid to win the Asian Cup title in 64 years in vain.
