A big win without Son Heung-min (31, Tottenham), but no tactical advances.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by Jürgen Klinsmann (59), rode a “hard carry” from Lee Kang-in to a 4-0 victory over Tunisia in a friendly at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on Sept. 13.
This was South Korea’s second straight win, following a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia on Sept. 13.
For Klinsmann, this October’s A-match was about both content and result. This is effectively the last A-Match period before the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 in January 2024. There is a World Cup Asian qualifier in November, but the team needs to show results now.
Klinsmann, who took over from Paulo Bento in March, did not win his first five matches. They drew 2-2 with Colombia in their first match in March and lost 1-2 to Uruguay.
In June, they lost 0-1 to Peru and drew 1-1 with El Salvador. In September, they drew 0-0 with Wales. The first win came against Saudi Arabia, which came shortly after the Wales match. Cho Kyu-sung scored the winning goal in the 32nd minute to give South Korea their first win under Klinsmann.
However, there were still many critics of the match, especially since the main players, Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Kang-in, and Kim Min-jae, have been performing well in Europe.
The first half of this match was no different. It was frustrating. Whether it was the sudden change of players before the start of the game, South Korea looked a bit disorganized. You have to take into account the absence of Son Heung-min, who leads the team’s attack, but even without him, the South Korean offense is excellent. There’s Hwang Hee-chan, who has been showing flashes of brilliance in the Premier League lately, Cho Kyu-sung, who has been playing well for Midtjylland, Lee Jae-sung, who is considered a quality attacking midfielder in the German Bundesliga, and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in.
Klinsmannhoe tried to take control of the game in the first half with their power advantage and increased ball possession, but they struggled to create meaningful offensive chances.
Meaningless passes and unnecessary fouls continued throughout the first half. Perhaps out of frustration, Kim Min-jae, who held the center of the defense, joined the attack from the halfway line and tried to break through the dribble and pass forward.
In the second half, Lee Kang-in’s left foot flashed and opened up the Korean attack. In the 10th minute of the second half, Lee drew a foul on an individual dribble near the box, and from the resulting free kick, Lee scored the first goal with a left-footed shot. It was a positive goal, but it was Lee’s personal tactics from start to finish.
The South Korean national soccer team, coached by Jürgen Klinsmann, played an exhibition match against Tunisia at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the afternoon of Oct. 13. In the second half, South Korea’s Lee Kang-in scored a goal to give the team a 2-0 lead. 2023.10.13 /jpnews@osen.co.kr
The second goal was no different. Lee picked up the ball in the box, saved it with individual skill, and then rattled the net with a sharp left-footed shot.
The third goal came from a set piece. This is commendable, as the set-piece goals were the result of tactical practice by the coaches and players.
Scoring four goals without Son Heung-min in this game is encouraging, but there were no noticeable tactical changes in the second half. It’s safe to say that Lee Kang-in was the reason for the win.
Playing under Cho Kyu-sung, Lee Kang-in was free to move around the attacking zone and constantly harassed the opposing defense, but in the first half, he was unable to break through the tight Tunisian five-back defense. Without a tactical plan, they seemed to rely on Lee and other strikers, especially Hwang Hee-chan, who kept sending in crosses from the left flank that were repeatedly blocked by the defense. 스포츠토토 The ball to frontline striker Cho Kyu-sung was also thoroughly blocked.
Klinsmann took a breather with a 4-0 win over Tunisia. However, it is questionable whether he has shown any tactical improvement after calling for an Asian Cup victory.