It was a relief that the team did not lose. In the first half, midfielders made mistakes in passing and experienced dizzying moments. In the beginning of the second half, most of the field players rushed in haste, and some passes headed toward the side row rolled out to incomprehensible areas. Cho Hyun-woo, who replaced Kim due to the sad injury of Kim Seung-gyu, also had to shoot a corner kick cross in front of him. The plan B that the coach brought up was not smooth, and most of the players were far from cool-headed as if they were running with a fireball in their chest. If this continues, it will be difficult to seek the championship for the first time in 64 years.
South Korea's men's national soccer team, led by head coach Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany), failed to take the top spot by drawing 2-2 with Jordan in the second Group E game of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar, at 8:30 p.m. on the 20th (Saturday).
It wasn't until the fireball was buried in the desert
He seemed over-excited by the first goal, which he scored earlier than expected. It was a game that I realized through which I felt that in order to achieve my goal of getting higher, my excitement could be toxic. Within four minutes of the start, I earned a valuable penalty kick. Captain Son Heung-min, who received a nice through pass from midfielder Hwang In-beom, collapsed due to a hanging foul by Jordan captain Ehsan Haddad.
It was fortunate that Hwang In-beom, who injured his thigh muscle, secured time to recover while referee Salman Ahmad Palahi (Qatar) was going through the VAR-on-field review process for quite some time, and Son Heung-min's calm Panenka penalty goal moment also had a lot of implications.
He taught coaches and players that if they can maintain their cool head, they can achieve the desired results as much as they prepare. Our players shared a healthy consciousness to the extent that they even held a uniform ceremony for Kim Seung-gyu, who was unable to play together due to an unexpected injury.
However, since then, the operation of the game failed to maintain coolness as some players were swept away by their opponents, just as they were walking into excitement. My head knew that Jordan ace Al Tamari's left foot had to be blocked, but I couldn't respond properly except for Kim Min-jae. When Al Tamari's left-footed volley flew in the 21st minute, our two defenders were right in front of us, but we couldn't keep up with the timing. Cho Hyun-woo, the goalkeeper, flew to his left and hit the shot, but our players had to suffer from an unbearable anger as only Al Tamari was focused after that.
When Japan was held back by Iraq a day ago, goalkeeper Suzuki Zaion's mistake was highlighted, but we couldn't make it a profitable one. The equalizer in the 37th minute was due to Jordan's left corner kick set piece, and our goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo did nothing and bowed to his own goal until the corner kick cross bent just in front of the goal.
Although the cross trajectory was not too high or too wide for the goalkeeper to handle, it froze as if it were stranded on the goal line. From the goalkeeper's point of view, it was not much different from the second goal situation that Japan gave to Iraq.
Korean players didn't have any response manuals at all to escape from dangerous situations when extra time in the first half continued for a long time. It is no exaggeration to say that there was no central point to adjust defense teamwork. When Jordan's ace Al Tamari broke through dribbling (45+5 minutes), it was okay until Kim Min-jae showed more amazing cover-play skills, but right away Al Tamari's left foot shot came out, and Korean defenders were only distracted by the ball and Al Tamari until his second ball made Yazan Al-Naimat's right-footed bound shot come-from-behind goal (45+6 minutes).
Plan B, which was prepared by our team's coach Klinsmann at the start of the second half, was known as a replacement of two players (Kim Tae-hwan and Hong Hyun-suk), which was reversed to 1-2, but the players actually showed a desire for solo play to the extent that it did not suit the changed plan or chose excitement that was far from efficient.
Starting with goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo's dizzying rear build-up pass in the 55th minute, Lee Kang-in insisted on solo play in the 60th minute, causing isolation. In the 64th minute, goaltender Cho Kyu-sung had a chance to score an equalizer, which was like an empty goal, but he passed a right-footed shot right in front of the goal high. It was a shameful moment to use the off-side flag as an excuse for going up late.
Cho Kyu-sung received a decisive through pass from Son Heung-min in the 66th minute to create a shot opportunity in the left diagonal, but missed the timing and only lost ball possession. In the 87th minute, Lee Kang-in's right corner kick with his left foot flew so far that he didn't know who should receive it.
Jordan defender Yazan al-Arab's own goal was included by Hwang In-beom's left-footed shot, which received Son Heung-min's low cutback cross a minute into the second half, but after that, the extra 10 minutes continued, but the impatient movement as if holding a fireball was repeated.
Replacement Hong Hyun-seok lacked a ridiculous pass miss and received Park Jin-seop's header pass from Lee Kang-in's left free-kick set piece opportunity in the 9th minute of the extra time, but he lost his balance and slipped and tried to get out of the way to the left right in front of the goal.
In this way, our players recorded seven shots on goal out of a total of 23 shots, but they failed to bring out a more decisive opportunity. Thanks to the one point earned, the first goal of advancing to the round of 16 will not be difficult, but considering that more difficult gateways await the round of 16, the fireballs in their hearts will have to bury themselves in a quiet desert and prepare the next games delicately with a cool mind.
Now, our players will meet Malaysia, who appears to be the weakest in Group E, at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, the 25th at Al-Zanub Stadium in Al-Wakra, and Jordan will meet Bahrain at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha at the same time.