The Korean team stopped at Jordan in the semi-finals of the 2023 Asian Cup, which ended in the early morning of February 7. Although rated higher than the West Asian team, coach Jurgen Klinsmann and his team played below their best and were overwhelmed by their opponents at many times. Then, two goals from Yazan Al-Naimat and Musa Al-Taamari helped Jordan send Korea out of the tournament.
This is a disappointing result for South Korea, as the "Taeguk Warriors" once again missed out on the Asian Cup championship. Five years ago, South Korea also said goodbye to the Asian Cup after a crushing defeat to a West Asian team, Qatar.
Coach Klinsmann has no intention of resigning
When asked if he planned to resign as head coach, Mr. Klinsmann shared: "If we do not achieve the desired goal, we must take responsibility and analyze the reasons for failure. As for me, I have no plans to resign. I will discuss with the Korea Football Association (KFA) about what has been done and what has not been done at the 2023 Asian Cup.
The Korean team needs to focus on the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, with difficult matches. We will carefully analyze the defeat to find a solution."
The German strategist affirmed that he was disappointed with Korea's defeat, when the players missed many opportunities and made mistakes in defense.
"I'm disappointed looking at today's match. I set the goal of reaching the final for the Korean team, but Jordan deserved to win. Looking at the fighting spirit and performance they showed, they deserved to advance to the final.
I told the players not to lose in knockout matches like this. The Korean team wanted to control the game, and in fact, we dominated the game. However, things became difficult when Korea conceded the first goal. The players also did not take advantage of their chances. I feel very sad. But I have to admit that Jordan won with a great performance," coach Klinsmann shared.
The Korean team (in black) lost completely to Jordan.
The Korean coach added: "I take responsibility for the defeat. Of course, when the whole team fails, the coach is the one who has to take responsibility. I will analyze this match carefully. The Korean team had difficult matches against Saudi Arabia and Australia. But in this match, we accept defeat. Jordan played very well. Korea must thoroughly acknowledge this defeat."
Finally, Mr. Klinsmann affirmed that Asian football is increasingly unpredictable as the "underdog" teams progress very quickly.
"The Korean team learned a lot at the Asian Cup. In this tournament, we saw how many teams participated, and how many players fought with all their might in each match. The Asian Cup has many high-class players. The Japanese team had to return home, now it's our turn. Looking at that, we can see how high-quality the Asian Cup is," concluded coach Klinsmann.
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