‘New faces’ gained experience despite loss to Peru.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by coach Jürgen Klinsmann, lost 0-1 to Peru at the Busan Asiad Stadium at 8 p.m. on Sept. 16. With the loss, Klinsmann’s men have now drawn one and lost two of their last three matches, and the search for their first win will have to wait.
South Korea was forced to field an uncharacteristically different lineup on the day, with ace Son Heung-min on the bench as he recovers from sports hernia surgery, and the ineffective center back duo of Kim Min-jae and Kim Young-kwon unavailable.스포츠토토
Against Peru, Klinsmann deployed Oh Hyun-gyu and Hwang Hee-chan in a two-man defense, with Lee Kang-in, Won Doo-jae, Hwang In-beom, and Lee Jae-sung in the midfield. In the defense, Park Ji-soo and Jeong Seung-hyun replaced Kim Min-jae and Kim Young-kwon, while Ahn Hyun-beom and Lee Ki-jae were the fullbacks of choice. Kim Seung-kyu was in goal.
This roster features players making their first appearance for the national team. Ahn Hyun-beom (Jeju United), Park Yong-woo (Ulsan Hyundai), and Hong Hyun-seok, who plays for KAA Gent in the Belgian league, were among the first-time call-ups. Park Kyu-hyun (Dynamo Dresden) was selected as an additional roster member.
In front of 50,000 fans, South Korea started the game with high expectations. However, Korea’s defense was creaky early on. Korea allowed Peru to attack the center of the field early and often. The Peruvians were able to release pressure on the Korean defense with organic passing from the center of the field, and Korea’s buildup at the back also looked a bit disjointed.
With a shaky center-back line and back line, the performance began to falter. Eventually, Korea conceded the first goal. In the 11th minute, Peru broke through the Korean midfield with a quick pass, and after receiving a pass from Paolo Guerrero, Brian Reina found the back of the net with a left-footed shot. From there, South Korea began to panic as they were caught off guard by Peru’s fast attacking tempo.
South Korea went on the offensive in the second half. South Korea switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation at the start of the second half, with Oh Hyun-gyu up front, Hwang Hee-chan on the left wing, Lee Jae-sung in attacking midfield, and Lee Kang-in on the right wing. However, goals continued to elude them, and they eventually lost 0-1 despite using all of their attacking resources, including Cho Kyu-sung, Na Sang-ho, and Hwang Eui-jo.
Without key players like Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae, the team had to accept a disappointing result. However, Klinsmann emphasized one positive outcome. The younger players got a chance to shine. “We had a lot of injuries today,” Klinsmann said after the game, “and Kim Min-jae couldn’t join us because of basic military training. For those reasons, we had to make changes,” Klinsmann said, explaining the reasons for the changes.
However, he was positive that the younger players got a chance. “But it was a good opportunity to see the quality of the younger players,” Klinsmann said. “It’s good to see the younger players grow up and play at the Asian Cup in Qatar. Of course, as a coach, you want to win, and you get upset when you lose. Of course, today’s game was without Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae, but it was a chance to see the growth of the young players.”
Three players made their A-match debuts on the day. Hong Hyun-seok came on for Lee Jae-sung in the second half, Park Yong-woo came on for the injured Won Doo-jae in the 28th minute, and Park Kyu-hyun played his first A match in the 30th minute after Lee Ki-jae left the field. As Klinsmann believes, the game against Peru was a bitter pill to swallow and a sign of a generational change in the national team.