In Korean soccer for a long time, Kim’s central defender partner was Kim Young-kwon, the 2023 K-League 1 MVP. However, a generational shift took place with Jung Seung-hyun appearing as Kim’s partner more than Kim Young-kwon in the Jurgen Klinsmann stay. Jung, who seemed very likely to be Kim’s partner in this Asian Cup, was replaced after the worst first half in the final warm-up match just before the Asian Cup.
In a warm-up match against Iraq held at the New York University Stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE at 10 p.m. on the 6th (Korea time), the Clinsman team won 1-0 with Lee Jae-sung’s winning goal despite Lee Kang-in’s exit at the end of the second half. In the 40th minute of the first half, Seol Young-woo on the right caught the ball that flowed in the Iraq box and gave it to Lee Jae-sung with a right-footed cutback pass, and Lee Jae-sung, who caught the ball just outside the box, shook the net with a powerful left-footed mid-range shot, and Korea won with the winning goal. In the first half, Korea played as the 1.5th team, excluding the main striker and the central defender Kim Min-jae, and in the second half, they virtually faced off as members of the first team. The central defense was played by Kim Young-kwon and Jung Seung-hyun, who worked together in Ulsan HD.
Although Kim Young-kwon has been working as a partner of Kim Min-jae, the main player, for a long time, since Klinsmann’s appointment, the weight has been tilted a lot to Jung Seung-hyun. Except for March, when Klinsmann was not selected as a member of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Kim Young-kwon never played as Kim Min-jae’s partner in eight A matches, and Jung Seung-hyun played as a partner in all of Kim Min-jae’s matches, so it was clear that Jung Seung-hyun took the lead. However, in the warm-up match just before the Asian Cup, Jung Seung-hyun played only 45 minutes in the first half and put Klinsmann in trouble with his worst performance. 실시간 바카라사이트
In the first half, Korea lost two critical points. In both of those scenes, Jung made big mistakes. Although Jung was behind the striker who was running forward in the first minute of the first half, he completely gave up space in the back due to his slow start and speed. Jung was also lagging behind in speed, allowing one-on-one opportunity with goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu, who was able to block the loss of points thanks to his stellar defense.
Immediately after Lee Jae-sung scored in the 40th minute of the first half, Korea almost allowed an equalizer. In the attack that followed immediately after the kickoff, Jung Seung-hyun failed to properly spot the falling point on the forward long pass and passed the key to give way to the back, and Iraqi 19-year-old striker Ali Jasim immediately ran to the empty space and had a one-on-one opportunity for the goalkeeper. Fortunately, Jasim’s left foot shot missed the side of the net and did not lose a point, but if Jasim was a player with a better decision, it would not have been strange at all if it had been a goal.
Manager Klinsman put in all the first-team members (Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Kang-in, Cho Kyu-sung, and Kim Min-jae) who had not played before in the second half, and as it was, Jung Seung-hyun, who had been working with Kim Min-jae in the center of the Klinsman stay, had to remain and play with Kim Min-jae, but Jung Seung-hyun was out and Kim Young-kwon remained and worked with Kim Min-jae.
Of course, Klinsmann might have wanted to see Kim Min-jae and Kim Young-kwon work together, but he had nothing to say about the reprimand for their poor performance in the first half. Lee Jae-seong and Jung Seung-hyeon were the only main players who were missing, but since Lee Jae-seong scored a goal and excelled, it was strange to see the replacement of Jung Seung-hyeon as a physical arrangement rather than reprimanding him. Jung Seung-hyeon showed a serious slump for just 45 minutes, but he had no choice but to decide whether he should change his performance to the central defense coordination between Kim Min-jae and Kim Young-kwon again as in the second half.