Klinsmann wants to beat the Saudis for the first time in 13 days, but what if we lose?
Klinsmann wants to beat the Saudis for the first time in 13 days, but what if we lose?
Jürgen Klinsmann (GER) will be looking for his first win in his sixth match as head coach of the South Korean national soccer team.
South Korea, ranked 28th in the world by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), will take on Saudi Arabia, ranked 54th, in a friendly at St. James’ Park in Newcastle, England, at 1:30 a.m. ET on Sept. 13.
Klinsmann, who took charge of the South Korean national team in February of this year, has not won a game in five matches since, drawing three and losing two.
Since the Korea Football Association introduced the full-time national team manager system in 1992, Klinsmann is the first manager to go five games without a win after taking over.
Furthermore, Klinsmann is not only not well-received in terms of his on-field performance, but he is not based in South Korea and often appears on foreign broadcasts, giving the impression that he is not committed to Korean soccer.
The recent contrast with Japan (ranked 20th) has added to the anxiety about Klinsmann.
South Korea lost 0-1 to Peru and drew 1-1 with El Salvador in June, while Japan thrashed Peru 4-1 and El Salvador 6-0 in the same period.
In the first round of A matches in September, South Korea drew 0-0 with Wales (ranked 35th), while Japan thrashed “The Tank Corps” (ranked 15th) 4-1.
Saudi Arabia’s opponent on the 13th is a team that lost 1-3 to Costa Rica (46th) on the 9th, so for Klinsmann, anything other than a ‘win’ is unacceptable.
“I would say it’s a process,” Klinsmann said after the 0-0 draw with Wales, “and it’s a good opportunity to test the players for the World Cup qualifiers starting in November and the Asian Cup in early 2024.”
The implication is that the focus is on World Cup qualifying and the Asian Cup rather than immediate victories.
However, a draw or loss against Saudi Arabia could give a significant boost to the ‘hardline’ theory, albeit prematurely.
The absence of Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) from the squad due to injury, and the fact that Hong Hyun-seok (Gent), who started against Wales, has moved on to Hwang Sun-hong’s Asian Games squad and will miss the game against Saudi Arabia, could be a ‘mitigating factor’ for Klinsmann.
“Saudi Arabia is a good opponent who caused a lot of upsets in the last World Cup,” said Son Heung-min (Tottenham), who struggled against Wales. “In a way, I think he’s going through the process of selecting players now rather than getting results.”
Saudi Arabia defeated eventual champions Argentina 2-1 in the group stage of last year’s World Cup in Qatar.
The head-to-head record is four wins, seven draws, and six losses in favor of South Korea.
Most recently, they drew 0-0 in a friendly in December 2018. South Korea’s last victory over Saudi Arabia was a 2-0 away win in a World Cup qualifier in South Africa in November 2008.
Saudi Arabia recently appointed former Italy national team coach Roberto Mancini as the new national team manager.
Mancini, who led Italy to the 2020 European Championship, made his Saudi debut against Costa Rica.
Saudi Arabia, whose entire roster is made up of players who play in their national leagues, are in desperate need of a win against South Korea, having lost their last five A matches dating back to the Gulf Cup in January.
St. James’ Park is home to English Premier League team Newcastle, 카지노사이트가이드 which is owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.