Kangin Heungmin’s baton touch!
South Korea’s national soccer team, led by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, will play Saudi Arabia in the round of 16 of the Qatar Asian Cup at 1 a.m. on the 31st at Education City Stadium in Alayyan, Qatar.
Korea passed the group stage with one win and two draws, somewhat struggling. It failed to respond smoothly to the opposing teams’ strategies, which focused on defense and counterattack. However, chances are high that the game will change now. Good conditions are expected to be created for Son Heung-min, who had been quiet in the group stage.
Korea faced Bahrain, Jordan, and Malaysia, which are considered one step lower in the preliminary round. With Korea taking the lead in all three matches, the opponent team is aiming for the counter. Korea held a very high possession rate. The match against Bahrain took 71 percent, Jordan 66 percent, and Malaysia 81 percent.
The most impressive player was Lee Kang-in. He accumulated three goals and one assist. He was directly involved in half of the eight goals scored by Korea. He scored one goal with a mid-range shot, one with a direct free kick, and one assist with a corner kick. In fact, he created three goals with his personal skills.
Lee Kang-in has advantages of dribbling, depression, and accurate passes. There is a lot of room for Lee Kang-in to stand out against a team that is down and floats like the group stage. In fact, it was the same. South Korea lacked detailed offensive tactics to remove dense defense, but it overcame the crisis well thanks to Lee Kang-in’s personal skills.
Saudi Arabia is different from the round of 16. Saudi Arabia is an equal match. Rather, considering the Middle East’s home advantage, it is highly likely that Korea will be on the defensive. At the same time, there will be a lot of room behind the scenes, which was rarely seen in qualifiers.
Korean captain Son Heung-min is the world’s best space penetration expert. For his team Tottenham, Son played into space and scored numerous goals through Harry Kane’s penetrating pass. With this tactic, Son became the top scorer in the 2021-2022 season in the Premier League. Son and Kane are ranked No. 1 in goal combination (47 goals combined) in the history of Premier League. 안전놀이터
In Korea, there is a “passmaster” Lee Kang-in instead of Kane. From the match against Saudi Arabia, Son Heung-min penetrates and Lee Kang-in scores a kill pass more often. The increase in shooting opportunities for Son Heung-min, who has a high goal-determining ability, means that the expected score also increases.