Three Bundesliga professionals ride rollercoaster in South Korea's six-goal draw with Malaysia
Jürgen Klinsmann's "Taeguk Warriors" of South Korea are through to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup knockouts, yet not as group winners after they were stunned by the "Harimau Malaya" of Malaysia in their final group stage match.
All three German club players off on international duty with Klinsmann stared. Stuttgart's Woo-Yeong Jeong scored a goal. Mainz's Lee-Jae Sung committed a crucial error. Bayern's Min-Jae Kim had a mixed day.
The South Korean national football team has followed up a win in their opening group stage match against Bahrain and a draw in their second fixture against Jordan with another draw against Malaysia in their final group encounter. The Taeguk Warriors - coached by former Bundestrainer and USMNT head-coach Jürgen Klinsmann - shared the spoils with the Malayan Tigers in a six-goal thriller. The 3-3 result means that Korea's opening round opponent Bahrain will go through as group winners whilst Klinsmann's side advance as runners-up.
All three German club players off on international duty with Klinsmann stared. Stuttgart's Woo-Yeong Jeong scored a goal. Mainz's Lee-Jae Sung committed a crucial error. Bayern's Min-Jae Kim had a mixed day.
All three Bundesliga professional representing their country started in the match. Bayern's Min-Jae Kim featured in the XI for the third consecutive time, as did FSV Mainz 05 attacking midfielder Jae-Sung Lee. Stuttgart attacker Woo-Jeong Jeong - after logging minutes as a substitute in the the first two matches - made his debut in Klinsmann's lineup. It was indeed Jeong who got the Taeguks off to the perfect start, converting the 1-0 off a corner in the 21st. The teams went into the tunnel with the 1-0 scoreline in tact.
After the restart, however, the heavy underdogs were able to equalize. It was unfortunately Mainz's Lee who kicked the sequence leading to the 1-1 off with a bad turnover in the 51st. Eleven minutes later, the Malaysians took the lead from the penalty spot. It wasn't until seven minutes from the end of normal time that the Koreans were able to breathe a sigh of relief. A Malaysian own-goal led to the 2-2 in the 83rd. Former Bundesliga star Heung-Min Son then gave the Koreans a 3-2 lead from the penalty spot at 90+4, but Malaysia were once again able to equalize at 90+15.
Bayern's Kim remained on the pitch throughout to go the full distance. Mainz's Lee essentially put in a full shift as well, getting the hook at 90+11. Amid the topsy-turvy day for the German club representatives, Kim also furnished a very mixed performance. Just like colleagues Jeong and Lee, there were instances in which he appeared exceptionally strong. Along with the rest of the team, however, Kim committed many flagrant marking and passing errors. South Korea's quest to capture their third continental championship (and first since 1960) continues on Tuesday.
The opponent is yet to be determined.