Korea 1-0 Saudi Arabia as Jurgen Klinsmann finally gets a win

Football

Published: 13 Sep. 2023, 10:21 Updated: 13 Sep. 2023, 17:15

Korea 1-0 Saudi Arabia as Jurgen Klinsmann finally gets a win

Korea's Cho Gue-sung celebrates after scoring against Saudi Arabia in a friendly at St James' Park in Newcastle, England on Tuesday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Jurgen Klinsmann secured his first win in his sixth game as Korea head coach on Tuesday, snapping a seven-month cold spell and offering the slightest glimpse of brighter days ahead for the Taeguk Warriors.

A Cho Gue-sung header secured the 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia at St. James’ Park in Newcastle, England on Tuesday, a result that belied how dominant Korea were in a match that could have just as easily ended 3-0.

The Cho goal in the 32nd minute was as much the result of a few lucky bounces as it was the FC Midtjylland’s forwards run into the box, but it was not all luck on the offense for Korea this time. The midfield was uncharacteristically snappy, with Cho, Hwang Hee-chan, Hwang In-beom and Lee Jae-sung all creating good opportunities.

Korea's Cho Gue-sung scores against Saudi Arabia in a friendly at St James' Park in Newcastle, England on Tuesday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Captain Son Heung-min was perhaps the least visible member of the midfield, less because of ability and more because Saudi Arabia mimicked the approach of every other team Korea has faced this year and stuck half the squad marking the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder. That pressure at times seemed to get to Son, although he still led a solid offensive and at one point laces a beautiful pass in to Lee in the box.

The defense was solid for most of the game, although there were a few shakes early on. Veteran goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu — who conveniently plays for Saudi club Al Shabab — comfortably stopped those few chances, before Kim Min-jae and the rest of the defense settled and locked things down.

The more reactive Korean attacks was a far cry from the lackluster display the Taeguk Warriors put on last week against Wales, when they managed just one shot on target in a tepid display that pushed Klinsmann to public enemy No. 1 in Korean sports.

Tuesday’s game was far more promising. There were 19 shots, nine of them on target, with every starting midfielder or forward managing to impress in front of goal at some point.

The same could not be said for the substitutes, with Norwich City’s Hwang Ui-jo playing about as well as one might expect for a player that has barely seen a ball this season and Moon Seon-min and Lee Soon-min looking out of their depth in midfield. Celtic’s Oh Hyeon-gyu, who came on for Son in stoppage time, barely had a chance to get a touch in before the whistle blew.

But the overall result, regardless of the relatively low score, was a good one.

The Korean team huddle before the start of a match against Saudi Arabia in a friendly at St James' Park in Newcastle, England on Tuesday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Son may have been kept quiet, but he can be relied upon to perform when it counts. Hwang In-beom, despite his club problems this year, was everything, everywhere all at once, and Hwang Hee-chan was pushing forward like “The Bull” he is known as.

The move to Europe has clearly been good for Cho, who has clearly carved out his starting spot in the Korean lineup now, and Lee Jae-sung’s comfortable partnership with everybody else on the pitch was as reliable as it always used to be.

Critics of Klinsmann — and you do not have to look far in Korea to find one — might point out that this all adds up to a team that has just about clawed its way back to where it was when Paulo Bento stepped down at the end of last year, and hardly the sort of performance people should expect from what is arguably the greatest generation of footballers Korea has ever produced.

But while the score line might suggest a Bento-era war of attrition, the Taeguk Warriors are playing in a distinctly different way. Long gone are the slow buildups and constant midfield holding plays, replaced instead with snappy attacks and a lot of legwork.

It may not work just yet — and if Son, Hwang Hee-chan, Hwang In-beom and Lee Jae-sung were ever injured at the same time it would be impossible to match the stamina to keep it going — but there is at least evidence that Klinsmann is trying something different and it may actually pay off.

Klinsmann now has a month before the next international break — a spell which he will likely be very careful to spend in Korea to avoid further criticism — when Korea face Tunisia on Oct. 13 and Vietnam on Oct. 17, both in Korea.

Those two friendlies mark the end of Klinsmann’s eight-game gentle introduction to Korean football. After that things start to count, with two World Cup qualifiers scheduled on Nov. 16 and 21 and the AFC Asian Cup group stage kicking off on Jan. 15 next year.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]