Ahead of the third and final group match against Malaysia, the opponents for the round of 16 are flexible depending on the final rankings of 1st to 3rd place.
Who will be Klinsmann’s opponent in the round of 16, aiming to win the Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years?
The national soccer team led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) will play the third and final match of Group E of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup against Malaysia at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar at 8:30 pm (Korean time) on the 25th. It takes place.
Until the second game, Korea is in second place in the group with 1 win and 1 draw (4 points, +2 goal difference). They have the same points as leader Jordan (+4), but are behind in goal difference. Bahrain (1 win, 1 loss, 3 points) followed in 3rd place, and Malaysia (2 losses) was confirmed to be eliminated.
Korea confirmed its advancement to the round of 16 regardless of the result of the match against Malaysia. Even if they are pushed to 3rd place, they will advance to the tournament with higher points than Indonesia (3 points) and China (2 points), which are 3rd place in the other group.
This tournament, in which a total of 24 countries participate, will be divided into 6 groups of 4 countries each. The top two countries in each group and the four best-performing teams from the top three in each group advance to the round of 16.
The biggest concern now is Korea’s first opponent in the tournament.
The final 1st to 3rd rankings of Group E have not yet been determined. It is subject to change depending on the results of the final matches between Korea-Malaysia and Jordan-Bahrain.
First of all, if Korea advances to the round of 16 as first place in the group, its first opponent will be its fateful rival, Japan. Japan, which played in Group D, was defeated by Iraq 1-2 and passed the group stage in second place.
In order for Korea to rise to first place, it must first defeat Malaysia and Jordan must draw or lose against Bahrain.
Assuming that Jordan defeats Bahrain, Klinsmann should score a large number of goals against Malaysia to overturn the two-goal gap.
If you place second in group, you will meet first place in group F. In Group F, Saudi Arabia is in first place with two wins, and Thailand is in second place with one win and one draw.
The two teams will face off in the final match of the group stage. Saudi Arabia can secure first place even if it draws.
If Saudi Arabia is evaluated as superior in terms of objective power and Korea passes in second place, there is a high possibility that they will face Saudi Arabia in the round of 16.
In the worst case scenario, if they stay in 3rd place and advance to the round of 16, they will meet either Qatar, the 1st place in Group A, or Iraq, the 1st place in Group D.
Coach Klinsmann said, “It seems like our group is confused. I don’t know how the rankings will end. (The match against Malaysia) is expected to be a difficult game. “We will do our best to finish the group stage with good results,” he said.
When asked by a Malaysian reporter, ‘Are you reluctant to meet strong teams such as Japan and Saudi Arabia in the round of 16?’, the answer was “No.” No one wants to avoid it. “We will win against Malaysia and show that we are a team worthy of rising to first place in the group,” he said. “There is no easy team in the competition. It doesn’t matter which team you meet and when. “It’s difficult for everyone, but the players will come into the game with motivation,” he said. 토토사이트