I won, but…”Defensive anxiety” in the first half of the Iraq match, which is worried about the Asian Cup

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The team won 1-0 in an exhibition match against Iraq held at New York University Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates at 10 p.m. on Tuesday (Korea time). The match against Iraq is meaningful as the final exhibition match just before the Asian Cup. The Korean national soccer team will have group matches against Bahrain on Saturday, Jordan on Sunday, and Malaysia on Sunday at the Asian Cup to be held in Qatar. Through a tournament that runs from the round of 16 to the final, the team aims to win the title for the first time in 64 years since 1960.

Iraq is a formidable team. It won the 2023 Arabian Gulf Cup with four wins and one draw out of five matches, and even beat Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the process. Compared to after ranking second in Group D, which includes Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia, it is regrettable to say that they are strong contenders.

Ahead of the match, Klinsman put forward Kim Seung-gyu in the starting lineup, Lee Ki-je in the back four, from the left, Kim Young-kwon, Jung Seung-hyun and Seol Young-woo in the midfielder, Hwang In-beom, Lee Jae-seong, Park Yong-woo, Hong Hyun-suk, Jung Woo-young, and Oh Hyun-gyu in the offense. Despite the rotation in general, the defense team was very close to the starting lineup except for Kim Min-jae. Except for Lee, Kim Young-kwon, Jung Seung-hyun and Seol Young-woo were in sync throughout the season with their Ulsan HD team. 바카라

Nevertheless, Korea was unstable in defense from the beginning of the game. In the second minute of the first half, Iraqi midfielder Ibrahim Bajesh received a penetration pass, came into the left side of the Korean penalty box, and hit a left-footed shot. Kim quickly narrowed the angle and blocked the ball, avoiding a loss. There was a scene where the ball that was cleared afterwards rather hit the defense and almost went into the Korean goal, but fortunately, it went over the goalpost to avoid a crisis.

Since then, South Korea has not been able to overwhelm Iraq and has taken an unstable flow, but Lee Jae-sung’s left foot has broken the situation. In the 40th minute of the first half, Seol Young-woo on the right gave up the ball that flowed in the Iraq box to Lee Jae-sung with a right-footed cutback pass, and Lee Jae-sung, who caught the ball in front of the box, shook the net with a strong left-footed mid-range shot to create a 1-0 lead.

However, Korea hardly managed to erase anxiety in its defense by allowing the opponent team to shoot a left-footed shot slightly off the right side of the goal in the 41st minute counterattack on Iraq. Coach Klinsmann took a large number of substitutes at the start of the second half. Excluding Oh Hyun-kyu, Jung Seung-hyun, Lee Jae-sung, Jung Woo-young and Hong Hyun-suk, he added Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, Hwang Hee-chan, Kim Min-jae, and Cho Kyu-sung. All of the key players that make up the national team’s frame have been put in. In particular, the defense team that Kim Min-jae entered in showed clear improvement in its rear cover compared to the first half, and effectively blocked Iraq’s counterattack.

However, if Kim failed to play in the Asian Cup finals due to unexpected injury or poor condition, the starting lineup consisted of defense players who would not have difficulty meeting. However, Kim cool-headedly exposed constant defense anxiety against Iraq, which was not among the favorites, leaving him worried right before the main tournament.