January 15th – Continental powerhouse South Korea get off to a winning start in the Asian Cup with a 3-1 win over Bahrain thanks to two second-half goals from Paris Saint-Germain star Lee Kang-in.
On a day when all eyes were once again on Son Heung-min, the ultimate superstar of Asian football, Lee Gang-in stole the show with two outstanding goals, showing his versatility and tenacity to help his team win, and becoming an all-rounder. He impressed with his performance. He picked up three valuable points in the first match against Bahrain.
The Gulf nation held out for 68 minutes, but like many of the other smaller finalists, fell short in the second half.
Lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with Kim Min-jae solidifying the defense and Son Heung-min and Cho Gu-sung taking charge of the attack, South Korea had overwhelming domination, but they played with caution against their Bahrain opponent. did. are aiming for a place in the last 16 of the Asia Cup for the second consecutive year under coach Juan Antonio Pizzi.
Every time Son touched the ball, the noise at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium grew louder as South Korean fans chanted for the Tottenham Hotspur star.
Son remains the dominant player in the star-studded eleven, but it was Hwang In-beom who scored first, with his header perilously wide of the target.
At the 30 minute mark, Cho Gu Sung was supposed to open the Korean account, but inexplicably he played with the goalmouth and sent the ball high and wide.
Pizzi’s team reacted quickly when Ali Madan slipped behind the Korean defense, but lacked precision as they rushed. The winger is one of the hardest working Bahrainis and has proven to be a rare addition to South Korea’s rearguard.
Although not an impressive force, the two-time champions took the lead in the 38th minute when Hwang In-beom pushed the ball into the goal from Lee Jae-sung’s low cross. This was a relief for coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who had faced much criticism in South Korea for spending most of the time away from the country in the lead-up to the final.
His team is on a roll and heading for the big breakthrough Germany is hoping for, with a potential first blockbuster game against Iran in the quarter-finals. Klinsmann knew his future depended on this tournament and the 1-0 lead was a neat reward for his modest performance.
Bahrain made a dramatic start to the second half as Abdullah Al Hasash equalized with a brilliant move from close range to slot the ball past goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu.
South Korea reacted brilliantly after losing the equalizer, with PSG’s Lee Kang-in scoring a perfect shot off the post to beat Bahrain’s goalkeeper 2-1. Klinsmann pumped his fist in celebration of a stunning long-range strike, a visible shift in momentum that put his team in the lead. Son fired a half-volley, but Ebrahim Lutfalla did well to evade it.
Korea moved the ball quickly from left to right, creating space for Lee Kang-in. Lee Kang-in directly killed the opponent and curled the ball sweetly to defeat Lutfalla 3-1. Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min’s techniques and delicate touches tormented the exhausted Bahrain defense, and the match was decided by de Gaulle, the Korean national team who were starting to improve. In the closing stages of the match, Tottenham’s star toyed with Lutfalla but was unable to convert. It hardly mattered because the day belonged to Lee Kang-in.
The Man of the Match emphasized the team’s unity in his post-match comments, but manager Klinsmann was a little dissatisfied and singled out the referee who gave him a yellow card, saying that the South Korean team received three warnings in the first 28 minutes. In response, the German players sent off Lee Ki-jae and Kim Min-jae early to prevent them from being sent off.
“It was a tricky match,” Klinsmann said. “This has a lot to do with the Chinese referee giving out too many cards too quickly, and the reason why they hired Kim Min-jae and Lee Ki-jae was because they were worried that if they made a small mistake, they would be sent off. It was because I was worried. He dealt the cards so easily that I thought he might have exaggerated a little.”
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