Jürgen Klinsmann has recently celebrated three wins in a row as South Korea’s national coach. Reason enough to look confidently towards the Asian Cup
Jürgen Klinsmann has been South Korea’s national coach since the end of February and his record is mixed. It took Paulo Bento’s successor five games (two defeats, three draws) to get his first win, but then there were three in a row – all three by zero.
The Taeguk Warriors and their coach seem to have found each other just in time for the Asian Cup. Klinsmann was confident on Monday ahead of the Asian Championship, which begins in January: “We want to go there and win the Asian Cup,” said the 59-year-old on Monday in Seoul, adding: “We don’t want to say maybe the semi-finals or maybe, maybe, maybe. No maybe: we’re going there to win. “
Long dry spell at the Asian Cup
An ambitious goal, given that South Korea’s last title was a long time ago, 63 years to be precise. Their last success came in 1960, their second overall after 1956. At the 2019 Asian Cup, they lost in the quarter-finals to Qatar (0:1), while South Korea came close to a third title in 2015, but lost 2:1 to Australia in extra time in the final.
Despite the long dry spell, it was “justified” that the supporters expected to win the tournament, said Klinsmann. “We have to strive for the highest goal, and if we don’t achieve it, it’s the coach’s fault – no problem,” he said, but at the same time emphasized: “You have to set yourself goals, clear goals. And we will do that. “
World Cup qualifiers coming up
The Asian Cup, which was postponed from 2023 to 2024 due to the coronavirus pandemic, will take place in Qatar from January 10 to February 12. South Korea’s opponents in Group E are Bahrain, Jordan and Malaysia. The first match is against Bahrain on January 15.
Before that, however, South Korea, led by Bayern player Min-Jae Kim, will begin qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Klinsmann’s team will face Singapore on Thursday and China on Tuesday.
