South Korea will face Bahrain on Monday at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in the opening match of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup.
Tigers of Asia are making their eighth consecutive appearance in the continental showpiece this month and will hope to achieve that. In the last friendly, they defeated Iraq 1-0, with Mainz’s Jason Lee scoring the only goal of the match, his 10th goal for the national team and his first since 2021.
South Korea has won the continental showpiece twice and finished runner-up four times. They lost in the quarterfinals in 2019 and will be looking to go even deeper this time around.
Bahrain, on the other hand, have appeared in the last five Asian Cups and will extend their winning streak at this month’s Qatar tournament. In their last match, they lost 2-0 to Australia, with only one shot on target throughout the match, but they had no complaints about the result.
South Korea vs. Bahrain matchup and important numbers
- Monday’s game will be the 25th meeting between the two teams. South Korea has won 16 of their previous matches, while Bahrain has won just three. There were five draws between the two teams.
- The last time the two teams met was in the last 16 of the 2019 Asian Cup, with South Korea coming out victorious 2-1.
- The Asian Tigers have only lost one game in their last eight matches.
- Bahrain have not kept a clean sheet in their last seven matches, a record dating back to 1993.
- South Korea are ranked 23rd in the latest FIFA rankings, currently 63 places above their midweek opponents.
South Korea vs. Bahrain predictions
South Korea is on a glorious six-game winning streak and are undefeated in their last eight matches across all competitions. They have kept a clean sheet in each of their last seven games and will be confident going into Monday’s game.
Bahrain, on the other hand, were unbeaten in four games, but are on a losing streak. The Taegeuk Warriors should win this time, as there is a huge gap in class and quality between the two teams.
prediction: South Korea 3-0 Bahrain
South Korea vs Bahrain betting tips
Hint 1 – Result: South Korea wins
Tip 2 – Goals – 2.5 Over/Under 2.5 Goals or More (4 of the last 5 games between the teams have produced 2.5 goals or more)
Tip 3 – Both teams scored: No (Both teams scored in only one of South Korea’s last nine games)
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