Bayern's Kim and Mainz's Lee record assists in South Korean win over Bahrain
Two Bundesligsts recorded assists for Jürgen Klinsmann's South Korea on Monday as the Taeguk Warriors kicked off their 2023 AFC Asian Championship with a 3-1 win over Bahrain.
All three German Bundesliga players currently representing South Korea at the AFC continental championship received playing time in their nation's opening group stage fixture against Bahrain on Monday. FC Bayern München defender Min-Jae Kim and FSV Mainz 05 midfielder Lee-Jae Sung featured from the start for Jürgen Klinsmann's Taeguk warriors while VfB Stuttgart attacker Woo-Yeong Jeong logged some late minutes as a substitute off the bench.
In a re-match of the 2019 tournament's round-of-16 tie, South Korea once again prevailed against the Gulf State 3-1. PSG attacker Kang-In Lee bagged a brace for the Asian tigers. Korean midfielder In-Beom Hwang - a player frequently linked with a move to the Bundesliga - also scored. Bayern's Kim and Mainz's Lee both recorded assists in the victory.
Lee's assist came on Hwang's goal in the 38th minute. The Mainz starter charged up the left flank and played a square ball to the Red Star Belgrade man. With the help of a slight deflection, Hwang was able to net the 1-0. Bahrain were abler to equalize shortly after the restart, but Klinsmann's crew were able to quickly restore their lead thanks in large part to the FCB center back.
Kim too charged up the left and serviced PSG's Lee central. A superb finish from the 22-year-old put the Taeguks back ahead 2-1 in the 56th. Lee scored his second - set up by former Bundesliga star Heung-Min Son - twelve minutes later. The South Koreans dominated proceedings from that point forward and could have scored several more goals before the full-time whistle.
Central defender Kim played the full 90 minutes while FSV winger Lee put in an 82-minute-shift. Lee was taken off for his Bundesliga colleague Jeong on a straight swap. The Stuttgart professional remained actively involved in several Korean attack charges during the final minutes.