Although coach Jurgen Klinsmann (59, Germany) achieved his debut win with the Korean national team, it was pointed out that he could not be considered to have solidified his position in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup finals.
The Japanese daily newspaper ‘Tokyo Sports Shimbun’ said, “Star player-turned-leader Klinsmann finally succeeded in his first victory as coach of the Korean national soccer team. However, the outlook for the Asian Cup is still unclear,” the report said.
Korea, ranked 28th in the world, won 1-0 in a neutral zone friendly match against Saudi Arabia, ranked 54th, on September 13. Since taking office in March 2023, Coach Klinsmann has been undefeated for 5 consecutive A matches with 3 draws and 2 losses.
The 18th AFC Asian Cup will open in Qatar on January 12, 2024. ‘Tokyo Sports Shimbun’ reported, “Korea’s doubts about Coach Klinsmann actually grew even though they won the game against Saudi Arabia.”
Korea was inferior to Saudi Arabia with 4 wins, 7 draws, and 6 losses out of 17 games. It is worth acknowledging that Coach Klinsmann led Korea to its fifth ever victory against Saudi Arabia.
It is also the Korea A match where they defeated Saudi Arabia 5,412 days (14 years, 9 months, 26 days) after the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Asian final qualifying round.
However, the ‘Tokyo Sports Shimbun’ said, “Criticism of Coach Klinsmann’s irresponsible attitude is taking precedence over the positive reaction to the victory. He introduced the atmosphere in Korea, saying, 카지노사이트“He was unable to silence the pouring criticism.”
‘Tokyo Sports Newspaper’ summarized Korea’s negative public opinion about Coach Klinsmann by saying, “He seems to be looking at things other than coaching the Korean national soccer team, which is his main job,” and explained it to Japanese readers.
Korea finished the 2022 Qatar World Cup in 16th place. This is the third best result in FIFA World Cup history, following 4th place in 2002 and 15th place in 2010. Attention is focused on whether Coach Klinsmann will be able to satisfy the naturally growing expectations for the AFC Asian Cup.
During his active years, Klinsmann was a legendary player who was selected as one of the 125 greatest players in celebration of FIFA’s 100th anniversary. After his retirement, he coached ▲ the German national team from 2004 to 2006 ▲ the United States national team from 2011 to 2016 ▲ Hertha (Germany) from 2019 to 2020.
Klinsmann led Germany to third place in FIFA competitions at the 2005 Confederations Cup and 2006 World Cup. During the Klinsmann era, the United States won the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup and placed 15th in the 2014 World Cup.
