Korea Draws 3-3 with ‘130th Ranked’ Malay… Asia Cup Round of 16 Korea-Japan Match Canceled

1 win, 2 draws, 2nd place in group, advances to round of 16… The likely opponent is Saudi Arabia.

Klinsmann ended up in a draw after a hard-fought match against the ’underdog’ Malaysia and advanced to the round of 16 as 2nd place in the group.

The Korean national soccer team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, drew 3-3 in the third and final match of Group E of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup against Malaysia held at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar on the 25th.

With the score tied at 2-2, Son Heung-min (Tottenham) scored a penalty kick in the 49th minute of the second half to secure victory, but Romel Morales conceded a goal in the 60th minute of the second half and had to be content with a draw. 안전놀이터

Korea won 3-1 in the first game against Bahrain and drew 2-2 with Jordan in the second game, and finished the group stage in second place with 1 win and 2 draws (5 points).

As a result, Korea will play the round of 16 against the leader of Group F at Al Rayyan’s Education City Stadium at 1 a.m. on the 31st, Korean time.

Saudi Arabia is currently ranked first in Group F.

If Korea had finished the group stage in first place on this day, it was destined to face Japan, second place in Group D, in the round of 16.

Bahrain, which won 1-0 over Jordan in the match held at the same time, took first place in the group with 2 wins, 1 loss, and 6 points, and will face Japan in the round of 16.

Jordan (4 points, 1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss) fell to 3rd place and advanced to the round of 16.

Malaysia, led by Coach Kim Pang-gon, former chairman of the Korea Football Association’s Power Strengthening Committee, finished in last place with 1 point (1 draw, 2 losses), but achieved valuable points against strong teams.

Considering Malaysia’s strength, it is a draw that is no different from a loss to Korea.

In the FIFA rankings, Korea ranks 23rd, 107 places higher than Malaysia, which ranks 130th.

Before today’s game, Korea was far ahead of Malaysia in their overall record with 26 wins, 12 draws, and 8 losses.

Coach Klinsmann drew up an elite starting lineup even though advancement to the round of 16 had already been confirmed.

Striker Cho Kyu-seong (Midtjylland), who had shown problems with his decision-making skills in the previous two games, was selected as a starter again.

Son Heung-min and Cho Gue-sung took on the top two in the 4-4-2 format.

Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) took charge of the left and right flank attacks. Hwang In-beom (Zvezda) and Lee Jae-seong (Mainz) took charge of the midfield.

From the left, Seol Young-woo (Ulsan), Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan), Kim Min-jae (Munich), and Kim Tae-hwan (Jeonbuk) formed a four-back defensive line, with goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan) wearing the gloves.

Jung Woo-young, who started for the first time in this tournament, was responsible for the first goal.

In the 21st minute of the first half, Jung Woo-young jumped up from the goal line to score a corner kick from the left by Kang-in Lee and received it with his head.

Goalkeeper Hazumi Saihan reached out and cleared the ball, but video review (VAR) ruled that the ball had already crossed the goal line.

Korea continued to lead the game, but the first half ended without any additional goals.

However, Korea gave up the equalizer six minutes into the second half due to a defensive mistake.

Near the penalty area, Hwang In-beom lost the ball to Darren Lock, and Faisal Halim, who took the ball, scored with a chip shot between Kim Min-jae and Jo Hyun-woo, who were narrowing the angle on the left side of the goal area.

A VAR was conducted to determine whether Rock committed a foul by kicking the ball while taking the ball from Hwang In-beom, and the referee ruled that there was no problem.

This goal was Malaysia’s first goal of the tournament.

Malaysia, which gained momentum, even gave up a comeback goal in the 17th minute of the second half with Arif Aiman’s penalty kick.

Previously, it was decided through VAR that Seol Young-woo kicked Aiman’s foot when he kicked an aerial ball in the penalty area.

Korea, on the verge of defeat, made a change in the 17th minute of the second half, replacing Hwang In-beom and Cho Kyu-seong and replacing them with Hong Hyun-seok (Gent) and Oh Hyun-gyu (Celtic).

It was Lee Kang-in who scored the equalizing goal for Korea.

In the 38th minute of the second half, Lee Kang-in’s direct free kick kick with his left foot hit the right corner of the goal and the goalkeeper’s hand in succession and went into the goal.

This goal was recorded as the goalkeeper’s own goal.

In the 49th minute of the second half, Korea seemed to have achieved a 3-2 comeback victory as kicker Son Heung-min scored on a penalty kick taken by Oh Hyun-gyu (Celtic).

However, Malaysia, trying to get at least one point, managed to tie the game in the 60th minute of the second half when Morales scored with a right-footed shot.