No team has advanced from Group E of the AFC Asian Cup yet, as South Korea drew with Jordan and Bahrain defeated Malaysia.
DOHA, Jan. 21 (Xinhua News Agency) – A last-minute own goal led to a 2-2 draw for South Korea with Jordan in Group E of the AFC Asian Cup held here on Saturday.
After both teams won convincingly in the first round, Jordan is on the verge of repeating their surprise win against the tournament’s favorites as Iraq defeated Asia’s top seeds Japan 2-1 on Friday. Ta.
Despite Son Heung-min scoring an early penalty in the 9th minute, Jordan counterattacked with two points with Park Yong-woo conceding an own goal in the corner and Yazan Al Naimat scoring a volley just before the end of the first half. did. additional time distance.
South Korea’s relentless efforts finally paid off when Hwang In-beom took a shot in the 92nd minute, but Yazan Al Arab deflected it into their own goal.
South Korea coach Jurgen Klinsmann said: “We expected a difficult game, but it turned out to be a difficult game. You learn a lot from these games.”
The German coach also praised his players’ response in avoiding a major upset. “It’s important to see how the players react when things don’t go well. That’s what I was really happy about.”
Also in Group E, Bahrain defeated Malaysia 1-0 thanks to a late goal from Ali Madan, keeping the victors’ hopes of progressing to the knockout stages alive.
Madan found the back of the net with the outside of his left foot in the 95th minute after Malaysian defenders failed to clear a corner kick.
Jordan and South Korea lead the group with four points each, ahead of Bahrain, who has three points, and Malaysia, who have lost two consecutive games.
Jordan will face Bahrain in the final group match next Thursday, while South Korea will face Malaysia. ■