Korea 1-0 Iraq in tepid Asian Cup tune-up

Lee Jae-sung in action during a friendly between Korea and Iraq at New York University's Abu Dhabi campus in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday. [NEWS1]

Korea beat Iraq 1-0 in a tepid final tune-up game ahead of the Asian Cup on Saturday, with Lee Jae-sung providing the sole goal at New York University’s Abu Dhabi Campus in the United Arab Emirates.

Klinsmann opted to field a pared-back squad to start the game, benching regular captain Son Heung-min and European stars Kim Min-jae, Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Kang-in and Cho Gue-sung.

The armband instead went to defender Kim Young-gwon, with veteran midfielders Lee Jae-sung and Hwang In-beom also adding some experience to a far younger starting lineup. Rising stars Hong Hyun-seok and Jeong Woo-yeong joined them, alongside Celtic’s Oh Hyeon-gyu.

It was a quiet start for Korea, with the sort-of B team clearly struggling to make the uncommon combination of players gel. Attacks were often abortive, and the few serious attempts on goal — notably from Oh and Jeong — went straight to the Iraqi keeper.

Lee finally broke the deadlock in the 40th minute, hammering in a shot from outside the box. That put Korea up going into the half, ready for the missing starters to join en masse after the break.

The difference to the Korean squad was immediately visible. The speed of Lee Kang-in and Son Heung-min quickly set them part, with Korea barely giving up possession in the first few minutes of the second half.

And yet despite the obvious individual skill on display, the Taeguk Warriors still struggled — in a worrying preview for the Asian Cup, what statistically should be the greatest Korean offensive line perhaps ever proved unable to score against world No. 63 Iraq.

Korea ended up down to 10 men in the 86th minute when Lee Kang-in was sent off for his part in an altercation with Iraq’s Ahmed Yahya Mahmoud Al Hajjaj, a somewhat confusing decision made worse by the lack of VAR or detailed replays, as Al Hajjaj only got yellow after appearing to head-butt Lee in the face. The KFA later confirmed Lee saw red after receiving two yellows, although the first yellow was also hard to spot on the broadcast.

The score remained at 1-0 when the whistle blew 10 minutes late, handing Korea a 1-0 win in their final match before the Asian Cup.

As tune-up games go it’s difficult to see what Korea actually gained.

The defensive line played well in both halves, but offense proved to be a concern. Despite having two of the top goal scorers in the Premier League, a Paris Saint-Germain star who scored in the Trophee des Champions just a few days earlier and solid strikers from the Bundesliga and Danish, Scottish and Belgian leagues, Korea just could not score.

Lee Jae-sung and Hwang In-beom both played well in the middle, although that does not really tell Klinsmann much as at least one of them was pretty much guaranteed to be on the pitch at all times anyway.

Korea now has a week to regroup before the tournament starts in Qatar next weekend. The Taeguk Warriors will face Bahrain in their first game on Monday.

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