Korea defeats Iraq in final Asian Cup tuneup match
Korea held off Iraq 1-0 in their final tuneup match before the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Midfielder Lee Jae-sung scored the first goal late in the first half at New York University Abu Dhabi Stadium, but the Taegeuk Warriors were unable to add to that lead in the second half despite dominating the run of play.
Korea played the final handful of minutes a man down after Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) midfielder Lee Kang-in was sent off on his second yellow card of the match following a shoving match with Ahmed Yahya, who also took a yellow card for initiating contact after the ball was whistled dead.
Korea have now won six straight matches. They have scored 20 goals and conceded none during this stretch.
Coached by Jurgen Klinsmann, Korea set up pre-Asian Cup training camp in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. They will travel to the Asian Cup host country of Qatar next Wednesday.
Korea will try to win their first Asian Cup since 1960. The top AFC men’s tournament kicks off next Friday, and Korea’s first Group E match is Jan. 15 against Bahrain.
They will then play Jordan on Jan. 20 and Malaysia on Jan. 25.
There are six groups of four nations. The top two teams from each group, plus four best thirdplace teams, will advance to the knockouts.
Iraq will play in Group D against Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam. If
Korea win Group E and Iraq finish second in Group D, they will square off in the round of 16 on Jan. 31 in Doha.
Klinsmann benched most of his big-name stars at the start, including Tottenham Hotspur talisman and captain Son Heung-min. Wolverhampton Wanderers attacker Hwang Hee-chan, PSG midfielder Lee Kangin, Bayern Munich defender Kim
Min-jae and FC Midtjylland forward Cho Gue-sung were also out of the starting lineup.
Youngsters also based in Europe, such as Celtic FC forward Oh Hyeong-gyu, VfB Stuttgart forward Jeong Woo-yeong and KAA Gent midfielder Hong Hyun-seok, drew into the starting XI.
The lineup did feature a few regulars, including Crvena zvezda midfielder Hwang In-beom, Mainz 05 midfielder Lee Jae-sung, and Ulsan HD FC defenders Jung Seung-hyun and Seol Young-woo. In goal, Kim Seung-gyu received his eighth start in South Korea’s past nine matches.
The big boys for Korea all came off the bench to begin the second half, with Son Heung-min, Hwang Heechan, Lee Kang-in, Kim Min-jae and Cho Gue-sung providing instant spark up front.
The match got a little testy in the late stretches, and Lee and Yahya got into a scuffle after a tough battle for the ball. Both players were cautioned, but it was Lee’s second yellow card of the match.
Despite being short-handed, Korea preserved their narrow lead to stretch their winning streak to six.