South Korea’s head coach Jurgen Klinsmann lauded his boys’ temperament to salvage a draw against Jordan in its AFC Asian Cup 2023 game on Saturday.
Korea, which entered the tournament as one of the favourite, looked to be walking on air in the beginning, with its captain Son Heung-min scoring from the spot within the first 10 minutes.
But by half-time, Jordan completed a comeback, riding on an own goal and another strike by Yazan Al-Naimat to turn the score in its favour.
“We expected a difficult game and we got a difficult game,” Klinsmann told reporters after the match. “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.”
The German World Cup winner tried to shuffle his pack in the second half, subbing on Kim Tae-hwan and Hong Hyun-seok for Lee Ki-jee and Park Yong-woo, respectively.
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But it was Son’s ability to sniff out chances that found Hwang In-beom, unmarked in the box, whose shot was deflected into the net by Yaan Al-Arab.
“Those are the games that you learn a lot from,” Klinsmann added.
This is the second game in a row that his boys have made a comeback. Against Bahrain, it conceded an equaliser, five minutes into the second half, making it 1-1. But Lee Kang-in stepped up that day to score a brace and win the game 3-1.
Against Jordan, Korea created at least five attacks in the last 15 minutes of play – including stoppage time – and snatched a draw, denying a clear spot in the knockouts to its opponent.
“It’s important to see that when things don’t work out how the players react,” said Klinsmann, “That was what I was really pleased with.”
South Korea’s spot in the round of 16 is still not confirmed and will have to wait for the final matchday for its fate. It faces Malaysia at the Al Janoub Stadium on January 25.
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