Korea secures 2-0 victory over Jordan in World Cup qualifier, claims Group B lead

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Korea secures 2-0 victory over Jordan in World Cup qualifier, claims Group B lead

Published: 11 Oct. 2024, 01:15 Updated: 11 Oct. 2024, 13:37

PAIK JI-HWAN
paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr

The Korean national team celebrates Lee Jae-sung's goal during a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Jordan at Amman International Stadium in Jordan. [YONHAP]

Korea beat Jordan 2-0 in a 2026 World Cup qualifier on Thursday, securing their second straight victory under new manager Hong Myung-bo and snatching the top spot in Group B of the third round of the qualifiers from the Middle Eastern side.

Korea lacked cohesion in the early minutes at Amman International Stadium in Jordan, but opening the scoring in the first half gave the squad confidence and doubling their lead in the second half allowed them to dominate the match.

With Joo Min-kyu up front, wingers Hwang Hee-chan and Lee Kang-in started in the absence of regular captain Son Heung-min, who is out with injury.

Korea failed to withstand Jordan’s aggression in the early exchanges, with the home side pressing the Taeguk Warriors hard and displaying quick build-ups.

Jordan also tried to snatch the ball proactively in their own territory, giving Korea no room to create chances. The visitors still possessed the ball long enough, but failed to do anything with it.

Out of the three forwards — Joo, Hwang and Lee — only Hwang had real impact.

Hwang displayed pace and made a few crosses on the left flank, although they were either mistimed or failed to be capitalized on by fellow forwards.

Lee, meanwhile, was heavily marked by the Jordanian defense on the right edge and failed to counter pressure. Joo rarely even had the ball, and when crosses went near him, he failed to latch them to attempt a shot.

Crosses that Korea attempted near the penalty area were also ineffective, with the Jordanian defense marking all Korean forwards in the box and making an adjustment.

Korea then lost Hwang, who had the most impact for Korea up front, to injury in the 23rd minute, with Eom Ji-sung replacing him.

Despite Hwang’s absence, Korea still found a breakthrough. Veteran midfielder Lee Jae-sung headed in the ball in the 38th minute, capitalizing on a tidy cross from Seol Young-woo to give Korea the lead.

Jordan created a few chances to level through counter attacks, but couldn’t find a crack in the Korean defense led by Kim Min-jae through the halftime whistle.

The Taeguk Warriors had more confidence in the second half with their lead, progressing their build-ups more smoothly and giving Jordan not much control of the ball.

Oh Hyeon-gyu, who was substituted in for Joo, imposed himself in the 68th minute, firing a shot inside the penalty area to double Korea’s lead. That goal marked his first goal for the national team.

Korea's Oh Hyeon-gyu, left, shoots during a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Jordan at Amman International Stadium in Jordan on Thursday. [NEWS1]

The 2-0 lead took the pressure off for Korea. The players rarely gave the ball away and continued to make good passes in the Jordanian territory, although none of those converted into another goal through the end.

Thursday’s 2-0 victory marks Korea’s redemption against Jordan, who knocked the Taeguk Warriors out of the 2023 Asian Cup semifinals with the same score in February.

Korea will now prepare for another qualifier against Iraq in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on Oct. 15, which wraps up the October international break schedule for Hong’s squad.

Korea need to finish the third round of qualifiers as Group D winners or runners-up, as only the top two teams from the three groups in Asia directly qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The third and fourth-placed teams on the six-team table in each group head to the fourth round to vie for World Cup tickets again.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]