Klinsmann’s men attacked Tunisia but couldn’t find the back of the net in the first half.
South Korea’s national soccer team, led by Jürgen Klinsmann, finished the first half 0-0 against Tunisia in their October A friendly at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.
Klinsmann, who is winless in five matches with three draws and two defeats since taking over, will be looking for his first back-to-back victories after registering a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in Europe last month.
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 from the bench.
After being excluded from team training since joining the squad on Sept. 9, Son laced up his soccer boots for the first time on Dec. 12 and joined his teammates on the field.
Jeong Woo-young (Stuttgart), who was named the “top scorer” at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games after winning three consecutive gold medals, was also named to the substitutes’ bench.
Klinsmann lined up Cho Kyu-sung (Mitwillan) up front on the day.
Without Son Heung-min, the attacking second line included Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain-PSG), who is tied for fourth in EPL scoring, Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) and Lee Jae-sung (Mainz).
In the middle, 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.
After that, the game went into a bit of a lull, with both teams going into halftime scoreless at 0-0. 19가이드03
