Klinsmann praises S. Korea response in last-gasp Asian Cup draw
Jordan's defender #02 Mohammad Abu Hasheesh and South Korea's forward #20 Oh Hyeon-gyu vie for the ball during the Qatar 2023 AFC Asian Cup Group E football match between Jordan and South Korea at the Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha on January 20, 2024. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP)
Audio By Vocalize
Jurgen Klinsmann praised his players' response after South
Korea avoided a major Asian Cup upset by the skin of their teeth in a 2-2 draw
with Jordan on Saturday.
One day after Iraq beat tournament favourites Japan, the
Koreans needed an injury-time own goal to salvage a point in Doha after Jordan
had roared back from an early Son Heung-min penalty.
Klinsmann said the Group E encounter had been "very
good to experience" as he targets South Korea's first Asian Cup triumph in
64 years.
"We expected a difficult game and we got a difficult
game," said the German World Cup winner, with qualification for the last
16 still well within grasp not yet secured.
"After the leading goal we took the tempo out of the
game, which was not very good, and we lost a lot of one-on-one battles.
Son fired South Korea in front from the spot in the ninth
minute but a Park Yong-woo own goal and a Yazan Al-Naimat strike put Jordan
ahead at half-time.
South Korea did not look like scoring for much of the second
half but grabbed an equaliser when Yazan Al-Arab deflected Hwang In-beom's shot
into his own net in the first minute of injury time at the end of the game.
A win for either team would have sent them through to the
knockout rounds with a game to spare.
Klinsmann's side beat Bahrain 3-1 in their opening match and
face Malaysia in their final group game on Thursday.
"It's important to see that when things don't work out
how the players react," said Klinsmann.
Skipper Son dismissed the idea that the pressure of trying
to win the Asian title after so long had got to him and his team-mates.
"There's always pressure when you play for Spurs or the
national team because everybody's watching you," the Tottenham attacker
told beIN Sports.
"I always deal well with the pressure, I love the
pressure."
Jordan, who beat Malaysia 4-0 and face Bahrain next, are
still also in a strong position to reach the last 16.
But coach Hussein Ammouta was disappointed not to claim a
famous win.
"It's normal to make mistakes at the start and end of
the match because you're talking about an excellent attacking team," he
said.
"What was important was that we played on a par with
them. We spared no effort to try and preserve the result."
Klinsmann was forced into one change from the opening game,
bringing in goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo for Kim Seung-gyu.
Kim suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right
knee during a training session and has been ruled out of the rest of the
tournament.
Son tucked away his penalty after a VAR check ruled he had
been fouled in the area and celebrated by holding up a goalkeeper's shirt with
Kim's name on it.
Jordan began to threaten and equalised in the 37th minute
when Park bundled the ball into his own net under pressure from Arab at the
back post.
Naimat then lashed Jordan into a shock lead in the sixth
minute of first-half injury time, drilling a shot into the bottom corner from
the edge of the box.
Naimat was disappointed it did not turn out to be the
winner.
"Any player in our team or on our bench can score a
beautiful goal," he said.
"Beautiful or not beautiful, it doesn't
matter. The most important thing is to win the ga

Join the Discussion
Share your perspective with the Citizen Digital community.
No comments yet
This discussion is waiting for your voice. Be the first to share your thoughts!