The 2024 Asian Cup continues to be held in Qatar. In the 1/8 finals, Australia defeated Indonesia without a fight. The UAE, the top four team in the last Asian Cup, unexpectedly lost and was eliminated by Tajikistan, which participated in the Asian Cup for the first time. It broke the news of this Asian Cup. The biggest upset. At 0:00 a.m. on January 31st, Beijing time, the Asian Cup 1/8 finals will usher in a blockbuster showdown. The Saudi team led by Mancini will face the South Korean team coached by Jurgen Klinsmann. This team will be led by a famous coach. The powerful dialogue attracted the attention of fans, and CCTV's cctv5 sports channel will broadcast the focus battle live.
Before the start of this Asian Cup, Japan and South Korea were recognized as the most popular teams to win the championship. In the group draw, Japan and South Korea had very ideal luck. There are no traditional strong teams in the same group. According to the rules, as long as South Korea and Japan are in the group The first promotion will not meet prematurely. However, things went against expectations. The Japanese team unexpectedly lost to Iraq in the second round of the group stage, and ultimately ranked second in the group to advance. The South Korean team in Group E saw a bad situation. In order to avoid Japan and meet prematurely, the South Korean team actually drew with Jordan and Malaysia in a row, and finally ranked second in the group to advance.
South Korea’s match against Malaysia in the final round of the group stage was full of twists and turns. In the first half, Zheng Youying scored to help the South Korean team establish an early lead. However, the situation suddenly changed in the second half. Malaysia scored two goals in 9 minutes to complete the lead. Before the end, Lee Gang-in took a direct free kick, resulting in an own-goal by Hazmi. In stoppage time, Son Heung-min fired a penalty shot to overtake the score. However, at the last moment, Malaysia scored a buzzer-beating goal from Morales. In the end, the South Korean team was upset and tied with Malaysia 3-3. 3 draws, avoiding the Japanese team as expected.
The Korean team not only successfully avoided the Japanese team, but also successfully entered the top half, while avoiding the powerful enemy Iran. In the first half, the South Korean team will face the Saudi team, the top team in Group F. The Saudi team is managed by the famous coach Mancini. In recent years, the Saudi league has relied on the super strong oil gold dollar and the introduction of Ronaldo as an opportunity to attract many famous stars from the European leagues to join. The attention of the Saudi league has skyrocketed, and Saudi players have taken advantage of the league. Through training, the level has been improved. In this Asian Cup, the goal of the Saudi team is to win the championship.
The Saudi team defeated Oman and Kyrgyzstan and drew with Thailand in the group stage, advancing with an unbeaten record. In the group stage, the Saudi team scored 4 goals and lost 1 goal. On the other hand, although the South Korean team scored 8 goals in the group stage and was the team with the strongest offensive firepower, its defense conceded 6 goals, the most among the teams that advanced to the top 16. In terms of players, South Korea's Lee Gang-in scored 3 goals and was tied for second on the scorer list. Son Heung-min also scored 2 goals.
Judging from the historical confrontation between the two teams, the Saudi team and the South Korean team met twice in the Asian Cup. The Saudi team achieved 1 win and 1 draw and remained unbeaten. South Korea has not defeated Saudi Arabia in the Asian Cup for 23 years. The two teams met in a warm-up match last year, and South Korea scored the only goal of the game with Cho Kyu-sung. This Asian Cup has been plagued by upsets. In the first four 1/8 finals, the two top teams in the group stage, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, were upset. The host Qatar came back to defeat Palestine after conceding a goal first, which shows that the knockout rounds The accident was huge. South Korea chose Saudi Arabia to avoid Japan. Now is the time to test Son Heung-min and Klinsmann.
