South Korea out of the Asian Cup
Klinsmann extremely pissed off after defeat against Jordan
February 6, 2024, 7:09 p.m
Jürgen Klinsmann missed the Asian Cup final with the South Korean national soccer team. The former national coach’s team lost the semi-final against Jordan 0-2. The selection, hailed as the “zombie team” in South Korea, is still waiting for its first title since 1960.
Former national soccer coach Jürgen Klinsmann surprisingly failed with South Korea in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup. The World Cup round of 16 deservedly lost 0-2 (0-0) at the finals in Qatar after a weak performance against outsiders Jordan. The Jordanians had already presented South Korea with massive problems in the group phase and achieved a 2-2 draw. Now they went one step further.
This means that South Korea will have to wait for its third title win and the first since 1960 at the continental championship. Jordan, on the other hand, is in the final of the Asian Cup for the first time and will meet hosts Qatar or Iran on Saturday, who will face each other in the second semi-final on Wednesday.
Shortly after the game, Klinsmann didn’t want to think about retiring. “I don’t plan to do anything,” said the 59-year-old: “I plan to analyze this tournament and talk to the Korean association about what was good and what wasn’t so good. There’s still a lot of work to do infront of us.” Klinsmann said he was “disappointed” and “angry”: “We had the big goal of getting to the final.”
Yazan Al-Naimat (53rd) and Musa Suleiman (66th) scored the goals for Jordan in Al-Rayyan. In a fast-paced first half, Klinsmann’s team put a header on the post through Mainz’s Jae-Sung Lee. They didn’t get any closer to scoring, and they didn’t get a single shot on goal in the entire game.
Criticism of Klinsmann is likely to become louder
The South Koreans, who were lucky to advance on penalties in the round of 16 against Saudi Arabia and in extra time in the quarter-finals against Australia, were sorely missing FC Bayern defender Minjae Kim, who was suspended for yellow. But little came together in the attack around superstar Heung-Min Son.
This means that Klinsmann, who watched the end with a stone-faced look, will continue to have a difficult time in South Korea. Even before the tournament, the 1990 world champion had been criticized after failing to win any of his first five games with the Taegeuk Warriors. The fact that he spends more time abroad than in South Korea was also not welcomed – similar to his time as national coach.
The result at the Asian Cup was also modest. South Korea only won one of five games in regular time. Late goals in particular saved the team from an early exit. This also resulted in the nickname of the Klinsmann selection, which was born in the tournament: “Zombie Team”. The former national coach acknowledged this with a smile. But there was no late comeback against Jordan; the “zombie team” was history.