Lee Kang-in puts on a show as Korea beat Tunisia 4-0

Lee Kang-in, left, celebrates with Cho Gue-sung after scoring his second goal for Korea during a friendly against Tunisia at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Friday. [YONHAP]

Korea beat Tunisia 4-0 at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Friday, capitalizing on a dominant second half performance orchestrated almost in its entirety by 22-year-old Lee Kang-in.

Friday’s win was not only the most convincing victory since Jurgen Klinsmann took the helm at the start of the year, but also saw the Taeguk Warriors show a squad with far more depth than has been visible on recent outings.

With regular captain Son Heung-min on the bench, the armband went to center-back Kim Min-jae with Lee Kang-in getting the start in Son’s stead. Hwang In-beom was also benched at the last minute, his spot going to Hong Hyun-seok to create a midfield of Lee Kang-in, Hong, Hwang Hee-chan and Lee Jae-sung with Cho Gue-sung in front.

But despite the fairly robust lineup, it was an uninspiring first half in western Seoul, with Korea overwhelmingly controlling the possession but struggling to do anything with it.

That was especially true in the final third, with the Taeguk Warriors unable to get anything close to a serious shot on goal despite taking the ball most of the way there on numerous occasions. The absence of Hwang In-beom pushed Korea more to the edges, with Hwang Hee-chan and Lee Kang-in playing a foot off the touchline on either side, but working the ball into the middle proved to be a serious issue.

With very little action on the field, the crowd started to make their own amusement. The wave came out in the middle of the first half, an indicator that the action on the pitch was not proving entertaining enough.

Malaysian referee Mohd Amirul Izwan bin Yaacob saw more reaction from the crowd that most of the players, taking a very passive role and often frustrating both teams with a heavy preference for playing advantage, even on what appeared to be fairly clear-cut calls.

There was no change for Korea after the break, but there were immediate signs of improvement. Within the first minute both Lee Kang-in and Hwang Hee-chan had played threatening balls in from either side, although both opportunities still fell flat in front of goal.

Korea finally broke through — and broke through in style — in the 55th minute, when Lee Kang-in hammered a free kick from just outside the box into the top right corner. Tunisian keeper Aymen Dahmen got a hand to the ball, but was only able to tip it further into the corner of his own net.

Not content with one, the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder waited just two minutes before striking again. Brought down inside the box, Lee Kang-in got straight back up to jump on the loose ball, turning around a defender to slam a shot into the bottom right corner without giving Dahmer a chance to move a muscle.

Lee was at it again 10 minutes later, sending in a well-placed corner that Kim Min-jae headed into the net to give Korea a 3-0 lead in what was quickly becoming a tour de force for 22-year-old Lee Kang-in.

Hwang Ui-jo added No. 4 in stoppage time, driving through the middle of two defenders to beat the keeper and knock the ball into the bottom right corner.

Refereeing confusion continued to be an issue in the second half. Most remarkably in the 88th minute, Yaacob awarded a penalty to Tunisia only to immediately withdraw it for a goal kick after noticing his own linesman's signal, unsurprisingly infuriating the Tunisian players that had been walking toward the spot.

The final result was not just a good one for Korea and much-maligned manager Klinsmann, but by far the best result that Korea has seen in months. Tunisia only rank three spots below Korea on the official FIFA ranking, making for a significantly more convincing result than the string of draws, losses and a solitary 1-0 win that have so far marked the Klinsmann era.

The victory is also a huge one for Lee Kang-in, touted as the future of Korean football for more than half his life, as he takes up the role in the national team that many fans felt was denied him during Paulo Bento’s time at the helm.

Korea will play one more friendly to round off the October international break against Vietnam at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Tuesday. Son is likely to return to the squad for that game.

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