South Korea defeated Bahrain 3-1 in the first leg of the Asian Cup on Saturday, capitalizing on a moment of brilliance amid a somewhat lukewarm performance to claim the all-important three points.
On paper, it was supposed to be a very one-sided game, but the Taegeuk Warriors looked to be struggling from the start, with Bahrain’s constant efforts to slow down the pace of the game and referee Ma Ning’s decision to book. proved completely unable to adapt to the trigger-happy approach of
Playing without Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Hwang Hee-chan due to injury, South Korea started Cho Kwee-sung up front, along with Park Yong-woo’s familiar Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, Lee Jae-sung, and Hwang In-beom. In addition, he was a starter. In the middle.
It was a painfully slow start for the Taegeuk Warriors, as their formation attempts crumbled in the face of Bahrain’s stubborn defense and heavy man-marking of Son and Lee Gang-in.
However, South Korea eventually broke through, with Red Star Belgrade’s Hwang In-beom putting Tae-gook Warriors on the scoreboard in the 37th minute, assisting Mainz’s Lee Jae-sung with a long ball across the box. The often-overlooked pair remained as solid as ever at the heart of South Korea’s defense, and once again stood out in a game where more admired players struggled to make a mark.
The one who didn’t struggle was Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in. The young midfielder proved his force to be reckoned with, scoring twice in the first 12 minutes of the second half.
Lee’s first goal came five minutes after Bahrain leveled the score at 1-1. Lee received the ball a few yards outside the box, took position with one touch, and fired a low shot between two defenders into the bottom left corner of the goal to make it 2-1.
Lee returned 12 minutes later with a shot from almost the same spot, this time from the left of the box, making the score 3-1.
But after that mess, the wheels came off again. South Korea reverted to chaos in the midfield for the remainder of the match, unable to get anything meaningful near the goal and wasting their few chances.
Discipline was also a serious concern. South Korea earned two yellow cards by the first 13 minutes and then received five yellow cards throughout the match, while Bahrain received only two.
Part of the blame for that probably lies at the feet of referee Ma, who seemed to have missed a few more of Bahrain’s attacks, but it was alarmingly easy for Bahrain’s players to draw fouls against South Korea. It is true that I felt that.
Captain Song was also a cause for concern. For most of the first half, Son was barely visible, but in the second half he started to play a bigger role in the match, although he only missed a direct shot on goal, including a shot that only beat the keeper. was.
Clearly frustrated with his performance, Son received a yellow card in the final moments of the match for an apparent dive into the box in an attempt to win a last-gasp penalty.
But the biggest problem of any player was the lack of consistency and flexibility throughout the lineup.
Today’s Taegeuk Warriors should be the strongest team South Korea has ever fielded, but they clearly lack experience playing together and are still not playing well as a team. For a team like Bahrain, who are ranked 86th to South Korea’s 23rd place, this approach is obvious and well executed, leaving a team of 11 in the field and no single cohesion. The goal was to disrupt every play in every way possible.
This is a trap South Korea are prone to falling into, and coach Jurgen Klinsmann will have to work hard to avoid being exploited again this week.
Still, all that matters is the score, and at the time of going to press, South Korea finished Monday’s match at the top of Group E with three points, with Lee Kang-in at the top of the scoreboard, Japan’s Takumi Minamino and Qatar’s Akram.・Joined Afif.
South Korea will return to action on Saturday, taking on Jordan in the second match of Group E of the Asian Cup. This match will also be broadcast in South Korea at 8:30 p.m.
Written by Jim Bree [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]