's opponent gave the South Korean team a lucky 1 point. However, the sluggish performance against Jordan and the possibility of facing Japan in the round of 16 made Klinsmann once again criticized by the media. If he fails to win the championship, Klinsmann's position will be in jeopardy.
As the favorite to win this Asian Cup, why did the South Korean team "fad" so quickly in just two games?
Six consecutive victories made Klinsmann overconfident.
After South Korea drew with Jordan, South Korean reporter Lee Jae-ho pointedly pointed out, "The Korean team is overconfident."
After Klinsmann coached, the South Korean team was in the first five games. There were only 3 draws and 2 losses. The 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in September became a turning point. South Korea maintained a complete victory in 6 games before the Asian Cup, scoring 20 goals and conceding 0 goals.
's continuous wins have made the South Korean team full of confidence. However, the South Korean team's opponents in these 6 games are not strong. Except for Tunisia, they are all Asian teams, and most of them are at home.
Such results made Klinsmann a little elated. After defeating the national football team in the world preliminaries away from home, Klinsmann said confidently, "This seems to be the heyday of Korean football. We have the best players. Our goal is clear. That is to reach the World Cup finals and win the Asian Cup."
Before the Asian Cup kicked off, Klinsmann once again said, "We are a team capable of winning. Even if we encounter difficulties, we will achieve our goals. Goal. We hope to meet Japan in the final. Judging from the physical condition and condition of the players, we have a great chance of winning."
However, the South Korean team, which entered the Asian Cup with six consecutive wins and zero goals conceded, The opponent scored 3 goals in 2 consecutive games and was once forced into a desperate situation by Jordan. This means that the opponent Klinsmann chose for the warm-up match did not have a real warm-up effect and did not expose the team's weaknesses. Instead, it made him and the team overconfident.
Cao Guicheng became the target of public criticism
After coaching the South Korean team, Klinsmann has always emphasized my-centered tactics. Unlike Paulo Bento, Klinsmann gave the forwards more freedom and used players like Li Gangren.
The offensive combination composed of Son Heung-min, Lee Gang-in, Hwang Hee-chan, and Cho Kyu-sung is indeed very powerful. However, Hwang Hee-chan's absence due to injury knocked down the dominoes.
In the national team, Huang Xican plays a very important role. When Cho Kyu-sung was being marked, his response at the back point made him an important scoring point.
At the same time, Cao Guicheng, who had an outstanding performance in the World Cup, was "unacclimated" in the Asian Cup. He shot 4 times in 2 group matches and had 0 shots on target. He continued to miss opportunities and got the lowest score in the team in the game against Bahrain. 5.8 points.
In the game against Jordan, Cho Kyu-sung wasted many opportunities, which earned him verbal and written criticism from the media. Korean fans even asked him to cut off his long hair. "Seoul Sports" pointed out, "When being closely guarded by opponents, Cho Kyu-sung had to use more running to open up space and get passes from teammates, but he failed to do this."
vs. Malaysia In the first game, Klinsmann faced a choice, either continue to trust Cho Kyu-sung, or let Son Heung-min switch to center. The other option was to let Oh Hyun-kui start.
lacks plan B
Another problem with Klinsmann is that he lacks plan B in terms of tactics and personnel. After defeating Saudi Arabia in September 2023, Klinsmann established the main lineup. Unless there is an injury, otherwise There will be no changes to the starting lineup. However, South Korea's performance in this Asian Cup proved that Klinsmann lacked a plan B.
In the first game against Bahrain, Li Jidi, who started the game, performed poorly and was the first to be replaced. However, in the game against Jordan, Klinsmann once again started Li Jidi, but he was the first to be replaced. However, their replacements were Kim Tae-hwan and Seol Young-woo respectively.
After two games in the group stage, the consequences of the lack of plan B gradually became apparent. First of all, with Hwang Hee-chan absent due to injury and Cho Kyu-sung in poor condition, the offensive line lacked capable players.Secondly, after Kim Sung-gyu was injured unexpectedly, Klinsmann could only let Zhao Hyun-woo, who was not very good at foot skills, play.
Since the start of the Asian Cup, Kim Jin-soo has been absent due to injury. After the game against Jordan, Li Jidi also suffered a hamstring injury, and it is still unknown when he will return. Not only that, Kim Tae-hwan, who replaced Lee Ji-di, also missed training due to a calf injury.
When Kim Tae-hwan, Kim Jin-soo, and Lee Ji-di were injured, Seol Yong-woo became the only candidate, which caused Klinsmann to be criticized by the media. With 26 players available, Klinsmann chose 6 central defenders, but only 4 full-backs, instead of players such as Hwang Jae-hwan and Ahn Hyun-beom who had performed well in the K-League. On the contrary, at the World Cup in Qatar, Paulo Bento selected 5 full-backs, and Yoon Jong-kyu was among them.
Faced with the dilemma of no full-backs available, Klinsmann said, "We may consider using three central defenders." Another option is to let Hong Hyun-suk and Lee Soon-min switch to full-backs. South Korean reporter Lee Jae-ho pointed out, "Bringing an extra full-back would have been a more appropriate choice than reluctantly switching to three central defenders."
Not only that, the Korean team is also facing a yellow card crisis. After two group matches, seven Korean players have already been suspended, including core players such as Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae. Once they are suspended against Malaysia, they will be automatically suspended in the quarter-finals.
Korean reporter Kim Sung-hyun analyzed, "Klinsmann needs a plan B, but he has not made a good plan. It is risky to let players who lack international competition experience join the main lineup in international competitions, and Korean substitute players are also different from the main players." There is a huge technical gap between them."
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