After finishing second in the group, he advanced to the round of 16. Son Heung-min responded to fans’ criticism of ‘unstable defense’, conceding the most goals with 6 goals in the round of 16. Opta said, “Japan still ranks first with an 18% chance of winning.”
Korean soccer will face Saudi Arabia in the round of 16, the first round of the Asian Cup tournament. Korea, ranked 23rd in the FIFA rankings, drew 3-3 in the final 3rd match of Group E of the Qatar Asian Cup group stage against Malaysia (130th) on the 25th, resulting in 1 win, 2 draws (5 points), and ranked 2nd in Group 2. Made it to the round of 16. In Group E, Bahrain (2 wins, 1 loss, 6 points) took first place.
Korea will compete with Saudi Arabia, which took first place in Group F, to advance to the quarterfinals at 1 a.m. on the 31st. Saudi Arabia recorded 2 wins and 1 draw (7 points) in the group stage. Scored 4 goals and gave up 1 goal in 3 games. Saudi Arabia, ranked 56th in FIFA rankings, has won the Asian Cup three times in total. It ranks second in this category after Japan, the country with the most wins (4 times). In Saudi Arabia, all 26 players in this tournament are playing in their own league. Saudi captain and midfielder Salem Al Dausari was named third in the ‘Top 10 Players to Watch’ by Qatari media ahead of the opening of this tournament, following Korean national team captain Son Heung-min and central defender Kim Min-jae. The historical record between Korea and Saudi Arabia is 5 wins, 8 draws, and 5 losses.
Korea, which is challenging its first Asian Cup title in 64 years, must resolve its ‘defensive anxiety’. Korea, which allowed six goals in all three group stage games, is the team with the most goals conceded along with Indonesia among the countries advancing to the round of 16. Indonesia (1 win, 2 losses, 3 points), led by coach Shin Tae-yong, ranked 3rd in Group D and advanced to the round of 16, competing with Australia (2 wins, 1 draw, 7 points), 1st place in Group B, to advance to the quarterfinals. The six goals conceded are also the most goals conceded in Korea’s Asian Cup group stage history. Son Heung-min, as captain, came to the defense as some of the national team players were severely criticized by fans due to their performance that did not meet expectations in the group stage. After the game against Malaysia, Son Heung-min said, “I hope we protect the players instead of shaking them. Athletes have families and colleagues. “We will continue to work hard and do our best.”
Korea’s defensive line was shaky and looked chaotic in all three group stage games. It has been 44 years since 1980 that Korean soccer gave up three goals to Malaysia. Kim Min-jae, who is considered the world’s highest-level center back, is holding on, but loopholes have been revealed in promised moves such as cover play. In this situation, Korean national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann (pictured) said of the 3-3 draw with Malaysia, “To give an overall opinion, it was a very exciting game. “A total of 6 goals were scored, including Malaysia’s goal at the end of the second half,” he said, arousing the anger of Korean soccer fans. After being appointed as the head coach of the Korean national team in February of last year, Coach Klinsmann faced growing criticism from soccer fans for failing to win five consecutive games (3 draws, 2 losses), saying, “The Asian Cup is our test. “If you don’t get the results you want (at the Asian Cup), it’s not too late to criticize and criticize.”
It was fortunate that Hwang Hee-chan and Kim Jin-soo, who were unable to play in the first and second group matches due to injuries, played as substitutes in the second half of the third match against Malaysia. In particular, left-back Kim Jin-su is expected to help strengthen side defense and counterattacks, which have been pointed out as unstable factors. Kim Jin-su, a left defender, is a player who is evaluated as having the same offensive power as a wing striker due to his excellent overlapping ability and accurate crosses.
As Korea, which was considered a candidate to win this tournament along with Japan, performed poorly in the group stage, sports statistics company Opta lowered Korea’s odds of winning. After all the countries that advanced to the round of 16 were selected, Korea ranked 5th overall with 11% in the probability of winning predicted by Opta through supercomputer simulation. Before the opening of the competition, Korea’s probability of winning was 14.3%, second only to Japan (24.6%). Japan (2 wins, 1 loss, 6 points), which passed the group stage in 2nd place, was still in 1st place, although its winning probability was lowered to 18.2%. The United Arab Emirates, led by coach Paulo Bento, who was the head coach of the Korean national team during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, also advanced to the round of 16. 19가이드03