Korean national team ace and others expressed anger after the turbulent group stage of the Asian Cup soccer tournament

All matches in the group stage of the Asian Cup Soccer have been completed, and 16 teams have advanced to the final tournament. South Korea in Group E faced Malaysia in the final match held on the 25th.
The match ended in a 3-3 draw. At the last minute, he fell from the lead and finished in 2nd place. If South Korea had passed the lead, the first match of the final tournament would have been a match between Japan and South Korea, but that did not happen. In sports, there are always
Although the ``Japan-Korea match'' is a highly anticipated match, various comments have been made online regarding the match card that did not materialize this time. Some believe that South Korea may have intentionally avoided playing against Japan.
There were also posts saying that this was a bad idea, and the Korean national team's ace forward, Son Heung-min, clearly denied this view while expressing displeasure.
The Asia Cup, which is currently being held in Qatar, will be held on the 25th, with the final match of Group E, the match between South Korea and Malaysia.
Ta. Korea took the lead in the 21st minute of the first half with a header from Jung WooYoung, but conceded goals in the 6th and 17th minutes of the second half, allowing a comeback. Malaysia's own goal was scored in the 38th minute, and in the 49th minute.
Son Heung-min scored the penalty kick. They almost clinched victory, but they allowed a last-minute equalizer in stoppage time, resulting in a 3-3 draw.
South Korea is aiming to win this tournament for the first time in 64 years since 1960, but their FIFA ranking is 130.
The draw against Malaysia, who ranked No. 1 (Korea is No. 23), was a shock. Korean media outlet E-Daily said, ``It goes beyond just a matter of winning and losing, and can only be seen as a shocking result.''
I can’t stop it.” It was the first time in about 13 months that the South Korean national team allowed more than three goals in a single match in an international A match.
Some media reported that it was even more shocking. Korea was scheduled to play Japan, the 2nd place in Group D, in the first round of the final tournament if they had finished in 1st place in Group E, but it was decided that they would finish in 2nd place, and the Japan-Korea match would not take place.
It turned out to be a bad thing. South Korea will play against Saudi Arabia on the 30th (early morning of the 31st Japan time) for the top eight spot. The “Japan-Korea match” is a matchup that is of great interest to Korean supporters, but there is a possibility that it will not happen.
Now that the tournament has been decided, some people are commenting online that South Korea may have deliberately avoided playing against Japan, which is the top contender for the championship. In response to this view, ace player Son Heung-min said at a press conference, ``There are many
Ku's fans have been making somewhat over-the-top comments on social media, and it's painful. All players have families, friends and colleagues. My heart hurts when I hear words like that. soccer
He is a human being before he is a player. I want them to treat their players with a little more respect. I would like to ask journalists and soccer fans to do the same," he said, expressing his displeasure. Also, according to Korean media OSEN, Son
In interviews with overseas media, the athlete clearly denied the idea of avoiding the Japan-Korea match, expressing his anger by saying, ``NO! That's not true.'' OSEN said, ``(Son) is the leader of the Korean national team.
As a general, he looked as if he had reached the limit of his pride at being evaluated as being lower than Japan." In addition, Korean national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann announced on the 28th that he will be playing in the final tournament.
He held a press conference before the first round match against Saudi Arabia. Regarding the view that he was trying to avoid a match against Japan, he said, ``I wasn't trying to avoid Japan. I wanted to come in first place in the group stage.''
He denied it. Regarding the match against Saudi Arabia, he said, ``It's going to be a very tough game.'' On the other hand, even if it was not intentional, the opponent of the Korean national team's first match in the final tournament was Japan.
There are also articles discussing the pros and cons of becoming Saudi Arabia instead. South Korean media STAR NEWS said, ``There's talk that Saudi Arabia is better than Japan, but that's really true.''
Shall we?” he questioned. The article says, ``This is true in terms of objective strength.Japan's FIFA ranking is 17th, the highest among the participating countries.Considering that Saudi Arabia is 56th and South Korea is 23rd.
In that case, it seems better to deal with Saudi Arabia than Japan,'' he prefaces. Furthermore, since Saudi Arabia is adjacent to the host country Qatar, many supporters will be at the stadium on the day of the match.
He pointed out that it is expected that South Korea will be away from home. ``This is the part that Klinsmann has to overcome.''
The article states that South Korea's record against Saudi Arabia is 18 matches, 5 wins, 8 draws, and 5 losses, and points out that ``South Korea is by no means at an advantage.'' ``We expect a tough battle.
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