Korea wins 3-0 against Tunisia in first October A match of the season
Son Heung-min keeps clean sheet in absence of rested ‘captain’ Kim Min-jae
‘Soccer genius’ Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain-PSG) scores a multi-goal debut as Klinsmann’s men sweep Tunisia for their first consecutive win.
South Korea’s national soccer team, led by Jürgen Klinsmann, cruised to a 4-0 victory over African powerhouse Tunisia in their October A Match friendly at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
Lee Kang-in, who started in the starting lineup, led the way in the victory with a multi-goal performance and an assist on the opponent’s own goal.
After going winless in his first five matches with three draws and two defeats, Klinsmann’s side recorded a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in Europe last month to start a winning streak against Tunisia.
They are unbeaten in their last four A matches (2 wins, 2 draws), starting with a 1-1 draw against El Salvador on June 20.
It was also the first time Klinsmann has won a match by more than two goals since taking over.
South Korea, ranked 26th in the FIFA rankings, also has an even head-to-head record against Morocco (29th) with one win and one draw.
After comfortably winning the first match in October, South Korea will move to Suwon World Cup Stadium for the second leg on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.
Son Heung-min, who is tied for second in the English Premier League (EPL) scoring charts with six goals in the 2023-2024 season, started the game on the bench but did not take the field.
After being excluded from team training after joining the squad on Sept. 9, Son laced up his cleats for the first time on Dec. 12 to join his teammates, but was absent to prevent injury due to the tight schedule.
Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games ‘top scorer’ Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) came on as a second-half substitute and played until the end of the match to help secure the win.
Klinsmann started Cho Kyu-sung (Mitwillan) up front. Without Son Heung-min, the attacking second line included Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) and Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), who is tied for fourth in EPL scoring with Lee Kang-in.
In the midfield, Hong Hyun-seok (Gent) and Park Yong-woo (Al Ain) were responsible for coordinating the offense. Hwang In-beom (Zvezda) was initially scheduled to start, but felt discomfort in his adductor muscle (inner thigh) during warm-ups and was replaced by Hong Hyun-seok before kickoff.
Lee Ki-je (Suwon), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Jung Seung-hyun, and Seol Young-woo (Ulsan) will defend the back four, while Kim Seung-kyu (Al Shabab) will wear the goalkeeping gloves. Kim Min-jae wore the captain’s armband in place of Son Heung-min.
South Korea dominated the game through high possession and pressure.
They were especially active on the flanks. Lee Kang-in on the right and Hwang Hee-chan on the left shook the defense with their dribbles.
However, they were unable to capitalize on their chances. In the 21st minute, Cho Kyu-sung’s right-footed shot went to the side of the goal, and in the 24th minute, Lee Ki-je’s left-footed shot went straight at the goalkeeper. Park Yong-woo’s mid-range shot in the 34th minute also went over the crossbar.
Tunisia, hunkered down, found the Korean goal on the counterattack in the 39th minute.
Aissa Raidouni tried a non-stop right-footed shot, but it went over the crossbar.
Lee Kang-in succeeded in opening the Moroccan goal that was tightly closed in the second half. In the 10th minute of the second half, Lee broke the deadlock with a direct left-footed shot from a free kick he won just outside the opponent’s penalty box. The Moroccan goalkeeper reached out, but it wasn’t enough.
It was Lee’s debut goal in his 15th A match.
Lee’s fiery left foot flashed again two minutes later. After winning the ball in a contested situation inside the opponent’s penalty box, Lee completed his hat-trick with a precise left-footed shot into the bottom corner of the net.
The Korean onslaught continued. In the 22nd minute, Lee Kang-in’s corner kick was headed in by Kim Min-jae, which led to an own goal by Moroccan defender Yassine Meriya.
With the score 3-0, South Korea brought on Cho Kyu-sung and Hwang Hee-chan a minute later and brought on Hwang Eui-jo (Norwich City) and Jung Woo-young to further increase the offensive pressure.
In the 36th minute, Hong Hyun-seok and Seol Young-woo were replaced by Lee Sun-min (Gwangju) and Kim Tae-hwan (Ulsan), and in the 39th minute, Lee Kang-in was taken off and Moon Sun-min (Jeonbuk) came on.
Lee Kang-in was substituted and the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Hwang Eui-jo, who came on as a substitute in second-half stoppage time, scored South Korea’s fourth goal with a right-footed shot to seal the 4-0 victory.
Prior to kickoff, a minute’s silence was held in honor of the late former coach Park Jong-hwan, who passed away on July 7 at the age of 85.
There were 59,918 fans at the stadium to watch Klinsmann’s winning streak continue. 카지노사이트존
