South Korea took second place in their Asian Cup group on Thursday after Malaysia scored an equalizer in the 15th minute of stoppage time to force a 3-3 draw, while Bahrain took first place with a 1-0 win over Jordan.
Bahrain advanced to Group E with six points thanks to Abdullah Yusuf Helal’s victory, while South Korea finished with five points. Jordan finished third with four points, making it one of the best third-place teams.
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South Korea will now wait to see who they will face in the last 16, but coach Jurgen Klinsmann said they did not intentionally finish second to avoid a big clash with Group D runners-up Japan. He added that he was angry about the outcome.
“We didn’t want to avoid Japan and it was definitely not our plan to concede three goals today. We wanted to pass in first place, that was our goal,” Klinsmann told reporters.
“Malaysia played with so much heart and I have to give them credit, but we should have won this game.”
South Korea took the lead in the 21st minute when Jung Woo-young headed in a goal from a corner kick. The goal was initially disallowed as Malaysian keeper Sihan Hazmi scratched the ball out of the air, but VAR confirmed that the ball had crossed the line.
However, six minutes into the second half, Malaysia regained the ball high up the pitch and leveled the score with Faisal Halim, who twisted inside the box and scored from an angle.
Malaysia took the lead 11 minutes later when Arif Ayman was fouled by Seol Yong-woo inside the penalty area and was awarded a penalty following a VAR check. The forward stepped up and won the match, dropping South Korea to third place in the group. .
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“If there is a VAR decision, we can sit and discuss it all day long. It was out of our control and the referee made the decision,” said South Korea’s Son Heung-min.
“Of course you can argue and question the decision, but we have to respect their decision. They have a screen to reflect on it.”
late drama
However, in the 83rd minute, Lee Kang-in’s free kick into the top corner hit the wooden frame despite Hazumi’s attempt to save, resulting in an own goal, and there was some drama in the final stages of the match as Lee Kang-in regained balance.
In stoppage time, South Korea’s Oh Hyun-kyu was competing for the ball when he was caught between two defenders, and the referee ruled it a foul, and after another VAR check, they were awarded a penalty kick, which allowed Son to score from that position into the bottom corner. Ta.
However, in the 15th minute of stoppage time, Romel Morales equalized at the other end with virtually the last kick of the game, sparking wild celebrations among the Malaysian fans behind the goal.
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“It’s a great result for us. Congratulations to all the Malaysian fans. Thank you for your support. I’m grateful to all the players for their achievements so far,” said Malaysia’s Korean coach Kim Pang-gon.
In the other match, Bahrain scored the winning goal from a counter-attack in the first half. Heral sprinted from the center circle, evaded the keeper and pulled the trigger from outside the box to score the goal.
Bahrain will play Japan in the next round, while Jordan will also be waiting to find an opponent for the last 16.