Shocked the world: 6 goals, most 'humiliation' in group stage history
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"The only defender I could see was Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich)."
It was literally a shocker. Jürgen Klinsmann's South Korea national soccer team played to a hard-fought 3-3 draw against Malaysia in the final Group E match of the Qatar Asian Cup at the Al-Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar on Friday (ET).
The match was a standings decider, with the 'Klinsmanns' having won one and drawn one of their previous two matches (4 points). Regardless of the outcome of the final match, they qualified for the round of 16 early. However, the final ranking was unknown. South Korea and Jordan were tied on points. Jordan (+4) came out on top in goal differential, followed by South Korea (+2). Bahrain (3 points) was third. The final rankings were determined by the results of the last match. South Korea's last opponent was Malaysia. South Korea dominates in terms of objective power. South Korea is ranked 23rd in the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) as of December 2023, while Malaysia is ranked 130th.
South Korea was expected to dominate. The lid was lifted. It was humiliating. South Korea took a 1-0 lead against Malaysia on a header by Jung Woo-young in the 21st minute of the first half. But back-to-back goals from Faisal Salam in the sixth minute of the second half and Arif Ayman (penalty kick) in the 17th minute dropped the score to 1-2. At that point, Korea dropped to third place in the group. South Korea fought back. 온라인카지노 Lee Kang-in shined in the face of defeat. He rattled the opponent's net with a direct free kick in the 38th minute. In stoppage time, Son Heung-min converted a penalty kick from Oh Hyun-gyu to make it 3-2. The jubilation was short-lived. South Korea conceded an equalizer to Romel Morales in stoppage time, and the game ended 3-3.
South Korea lost a lot in this game. It's not just a matter of pride. South Korea received five yellow cards in the first game against Bahrain and two warnings in the second game against Jordan. The warnings will last until the quarterfinals. It was a situation that called for 'card laundering'. However, there was no card laundering, and Lee Jae-sung was warned. South Korea had a total of eight cards.
Coach Klinsmann also used all of his "Plan B's" in this match. He brought in Hwang Hee-chan and Kim Jin-soo, who returned from injury. However, there was no victory, especially with the introduction of Kim Jin-soo, the "Seol Young-woo shift" was reinstated. Coach Klinsmann had initially used Seol at left fullback, but it became meaningless when Kim Jin-soo came on.
The defense has been particularly troublesome. South Korea conceded six goals in the group stage alone. That's the most goals ever conceded in a group stage. The previous record was five goals in 1996. The 'Klinsmann Lake' defense has been criticized many times over the years, but nothing has changed. South Korea finished a close second with one win and two draws (5 points). They will face Group F winners Saudi Arabia in the round of 16.
The media and tournament officials from around the world who gathered to watch South Korea play that day were bewildered. "It's too bad," they repeatedly said. After the game, tournament official A said, "It's a draw, but I hope they think it's a good thing. We won't have to face Japan in the round of 16. Japan's offense is good right now. On the other hand, Korea's only defender was Kim Min-jae," he consoled. "It's amazing that Malaysia scored three goals and Korea conceded three goals," said journalist B from Japan.
