"South Korean Soccer, Absence and Incompetence" - Foreign Media's View on the Defeat Against Jordan

"Jordan, ranked 87th in the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) rankings, defeated 23rd-ranked South Korea 2-0 to reach the Asian Cup final for the first time in history."

As the South Korean national football team, led by coach J?rgen Klinsmann, suffered a shocking defeat to Jordan in the semifinals of the Qatar Asian Cup and was eliminated, foreign media described Jordan's advancement to the Asian Cup final as "an upset."

On the 6th (local time), after the 2023 AFC Asian Cup semifinal match between Korea and Jordan held at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, coach J?rgen Klinsmann is consoling Son Heung-min.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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On the 7th, foreign media such as the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters reported, "Jordan played a nothing-to-lose game against South Korea, Asia's third-ranked team in the FIFA rankings, creating an astonishing upset," adding, "South Korea had a habit of scoring goals in the second half during this tournament, but Jordan stopped them." The foreign media also evaluated Klinsmann's team, stating, "The South Korean team, which was eliminated without recording a single shot on target in the semifinals, could not find any answer to Jordan's pressure and flexible attack."

On the same day, AP reported, "Jordan advanced to the round of 16 as the third place in the group stage and had a lower standing than South Korea in Group E," explaining, "However, coach Hussein Amotta continuously found the right answers, and Jordan advanced to the semifinals." It added, "It was the South Korean players who appeared intimidated when Jordan applied pressure." The local Qatari media Al Jazeera stated, "Jordan defeated South Korea, one of the strong favorites for the championship, to advance to the final," adding, "South Korea, led by Son Heung-min, one of the world's top forwards, could not break through Jordan's goal."

Defender Kim Min-jae, recognized as a top-tier player even on the European stage, was unable to participate in the semifinal match against Jordan due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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In particular, foreign media pointed out that South Korea failed to fill the gap left by Kim Min-jae. China's sohu.com said, "South Korea was an absolute favorite to win and advanced to the semifinals with strong come-from-behind victories in the previous two matches," but "the South Korean defense, missing Kim Min-jae, collapsed helplessly under the sharp counterattacks of Jordan's forwards." Kim Min-jae, recognized as a top-class defender even on the European stage, was unable to play in this match due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

In this match, South Korea was outshot by Jordan 7 to 17. Most notably, South Korea did not record a single shot on target. Jordan's coach Amotta, who led the historic victory, said in a post-match interview, "The players played a heroic game," adding, "The variable in this match was that we did not need to respect South Korea excessively." He continued, "Looking at the goals South Korea conceded in recent matches, we knew we could score against them," and emphasized to his players, "The most important thing I stressed was 'Do not respect South Korea too much.'"

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