Coach Klinsmann reveals the secret to helping Korea reach the Asian Cup quarterfinals

"We scored the equalizer very late and tried to come back, creating many chances, so we deserved to advance to the round of 16 because the players put in a lot of effort," said coach Jurgen Klinsmann at the press conference after South Korea's victory over Saudi Arabia in the penalty shootout in the Asian Cup round of 16 on the evening of January 30 (Vietnam time).

South Korea conceded the opening goal to Saudi Arabia in the first minute of the second half, but had to wait until the 90+9th minute of injury time to equalize 1-1.

A late goal from striker Cho Gue Sung helped South Korea take the match to a penalty shootout, where they won 4-2 in the tense shootout thanks to goalkeeper Jo Hyeon Woo's excellent saves of two penalties.

Coach Jurgen Klinsmann experienced a tense moment on the sidelines as the South Korean team had to wait until injury time to score the equalizer against Saudi Arabia (Photo: Getty).

Speaking about his team's nail-biting victory, coach Klinsmann expressed: "We are a team of players with a professional mentality, and for those who ask why you didn't face Japan, we are paying the price for that with the schedule and the short rest period between matches. We need more rest time."

The German strategist also revealed the secret to winning against Saudi Arabia: "We knew this would be a very difficult match against Saudi Arabia because they are very good."

It feels great right now. We should have scored more goals because our team created so many chances. But the opposing team also had just as many opportunities.

We were prepared for the penalties and Jo Hyeon Woo made two fantastic saves. We were looking forward to tonight's match, we played against a very strong team and now we're looking forward to the quarter-finals."

Regarding the upcoming quarter-final match against Australia at the Asian Cup on February 3rd, coach Klinsmann stated: "All matches are difficult and the chances of winning are 50%, but we are ready to play and want to enjoy this tournament."

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/hlv-klinsmann-tiet-lo-bi-quyet-giup-han-quoc-vao-tu-ket-asian-cup-20240131142722547.htm