South Korea in the Asian quarterfinals
Klinsmann delivers a severe knockout blow to Saudi Arabia
January 30, 2024, 8:24 p.m
For former national coach Jürgen Klinsmann, the round of 16 at the Asian Cup with South Korea will be a game of nerves. Klinsmann’s selection is about to be eliminated against Saudi Arabia. But then his team delivers the very late knockout blow.
Coach Jürgen Klinsmann and the South Korean national soccer team are in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup after a late comeback. In the round of 16 against Saudi Arabia, the two-time title winners prevailed 4-2 on penalties (1-1, 1-1, 0-0) despite being long behind and will now face Australia.
Abdullah Radif (46′), who was substituted at half-time, gave the Saudis the lead straight after the break. In front of the spectators at the Education City Stadium in Ar-Rayyan/Qatar, South Korea saved Bayern Munich defender Min-Jae Kim and top star Heung-Min Son (Tottenham) in stoppage time with a goal from Gue-sung Cho (90+9). into extension. South Korea held its nerve in the penalty shootout, with former Leipzig and Hamburg player Hee-Chan Hwang converting the decisive penalty.
Clubs are still missing the Bundesliga trio
In the first game of the day, Uzbekistan booked their quarter-final ticket with a 2-1 (1-0) win against Thailand. Azizbek Turgunbojew (37th) and Abbosbek Faysullayev (65th) scored for the Uzbeks. Supachok Sarachat scored the equalizer for Thailand (58th). Uzbekistan will play hosts Qatar in the quarter-finals on Saturday (4:30 p.m.).
Former national coach Klinsmann’s South Korean team finished the preliminary round in second place in Group E with just one win and two draws. The quarterfinals take place on Friday (4:30 p.m. CET) against the Socceroos for a place in the medal games. A title would mean the end of a 64-year drought for the South Koreans.
The 59-year-old Klinsmann took over the South Korean team in March 2023 and his contract runs until after the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Against Saudi Arabia, in addition to Kim from FC Bayern, as was often the case in the tournament, he also relied on Wooyeong Jeong from VfB Stuttgart and Jaesung Lee from FSV Mainz 05. The trio is still missing from the Bundesliga clubs due to reaching the quarter-finals.