Kim Seung-gyu, Korea’s first-choice goalkeeper, has been ruled out for the rest of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar with a knee injury, national team officials said Friday. According to the Korea Football Association (KFA), Kim suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a training session on Thursday in Doha. He will not be available for the remainder of the competition, a potentially big blow to Korea’s bid to win their first Asian Cup title since 1960.Kim started in goal for Korea’s 3-1 victory over Bahrain in the teams’ first Group E match on Monday. It was Kim’s ninth start in the past ten matches for the Taegeuk Warriors.

Head coach Jurgen Klinsmann is now left with two goalkeepers, Jo Hyeon-woo and Song Bum-keun.Kim had been the mainstay in goal since the fall of 2018, under Klinsmann’s predecessor, Paulo Bento. Jo was Korea’s top goalkeeper during the FIFA World Cup in Russia earlier in 2018 but gradually lost his playing time to Kim.Jo has started in just two matches under Klinsmann, most recently in a 6-0 win over Vietnam in a friendly in October 2023.Korea will next play Jordan at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, 스포츠토토존 Saturday.