Son Heung-min, who was robbed of a penalty kick due to an incomprehensible referee decision, hit the ground in disappointment. However, he proved his class by recording the most key passes in the game.
The national soccer team led by Jurgen Klinsmann won 1-0 with Cho Gyu-sung’s header and the winning goal in the 32nd minute of the first half in a friendly match against Saudi Arabia held at St. James Park in Newcastle, England on the 13th (Korean time). Klinsmann, who had been winless with 3 draws and 2 losses in 5 games since taking office in March, was on the verge of dismissal, but succeeded in reviving the game by winning his first win after his 6th attempt.바카라사이트
On this day, Son Heung-min was given an offensive role and led the attack. There was also a moment when I hit the ground. The opportunity to take a penalty kick was stolen due to an incomprehensible referee decision, and he hit the ground. Still, he proved his class as a playmaker to the extent that even if you add up all the Korean and Saudi players, no player recorded more key passes than Son Heung-min.
The starting list was the same as in the last Wales match. Seung-gyu Kim guarded the goal, and Ki-je Lee, Min-jae Kim, Seung-hyun Jeong, and Young-woo Seol took charge of defense. Lee Jae-seong, Hwang In-beom, Park Yong-woo, and Hwang Hee-chan comprised the midfield. Son Heung-min stepped up as the front two with Jo Kyu-sung. Except Hong Hyun-seok, who was selected to the Asian Games national team, was replaced by Hwang Hee-chan, the remaining 10 players were filled with the same players.Saudi Arabia countered with 4-3-3. Mohamed Alowais was the goalkeeper, and Saud Abdulhamid, Hassan Altambakti, Ali Alboleahi, and Yasir Alsharani made up the defense. In midfield, Mohammed Kano, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, and Nasser Al-Dosari worked together. The offensive line, Abdulrahman Gharib, Abdulrahman Alhamdan, and Salem Aldosari, targeted the Korean goal.The match against Saudi Arabia was Klinsmann’s sixth attempt for his first win. Klinsmann, who had been winless with 3 draws and 2 losses in 5 international matches since taking office as head coach of the Korean national team, only managed 1 draw and 1 loss against South American powerhouses Colombia and Uruguay in the 2 international matches in March. However, there were no major concerns because the opponent was powerful at the time. However, the atmosphere changed in the June A match. They lost against Peru, which is a tough team in South America, but their power is not much different, and even the subsequent game against El Salvador was a 1-1 draw, leaving a big disappointment. El Salvador suffered a 0-6 loss against Japan before facing Korea, so fans naturally expected a win, but they had a disappointing performance and ended up with a draw, putting off their first win until the next opportunity. As the first win continued to be postponed, criticism of Klinsmann began to grow. Fans expressed great disappointment at the fact that, for the first time in the national team’s history, they had no wins in four games since taking office, and were criticized for their lack of tactical color, as well as the fact that they did not properly keep their residency in Korea, which was a condition at the time of their appointment, and continued to travel abroad and work from home. . Afterwards, Klinsmann explained the controversy over working from home, saying, “It is an exaggeration to conclude that he does not live in Korea. Regardless of where he is physically located, I think the way to communicate and observe players is now different from before.” However, criticism was not received. It did not decrease, and eventually, amidst the keen interest of fans, Klinsmann entered the A match in September. However, contrary to his statement that he was a workaholic, the Korean national team’s performance did not rebound even in the match against Wales. Hong Hyun-seok, who had shown good performance as a central midfielder in his team, was appointed to the side, and Hwang In-beom, who lacked actual experience due to a conflict with his team, was selected as a starting player, showing that he did not understand the players properly. In addition, criticism followed that it was colorless and tasteless soccer as it still failed to show a clear tactical color. In particular, the fact that there was only one effective shot throughout the game was enough to raise doubts about Klinsmann’s tactical direction.Therefore, there were even predictions that he could be sacked if he fails to produce results in the Saudi game. The British BBC hinted at the possibility of Klinsmann’s dismissal, saying, “If Klinsmann fails to produce results in the September A-match, he will be able to spend as much time in the United States as he wants.”
In this situation, national team captain Son Heung-min stepped forward. In the last match against Wales, he played in a slightly lower position, but in the match against Saudi Arabia, he played in a slightly higher position and showed off his play by taking advantage of his teammates around him.In the 12th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min received Lee Jae-seong’s pass from the front of the box and finished with a left-footed shot, creating his first effective shot. Ten minutes later, he worked with Lee Jae-seong again. Lee Jae-seong made an accurate pass to Son Heung-min, who was making exquisite infiltration, and Son Heung-min received it, broke through, and crossed, but it went over the goal.In the 25th minute of the first half, when a shooting angle appeared in front of the box, he hit a left-footed mid-range shot without delay, threatening the Saudi goal. Afterwards, Cho Gyu-seong’s sensible play stood out in the scoring scene. Lee Jae-seong’s pass was passed by Son Heung-min, who was in the penalty arc area in the center, and he penetrated, and Hwang In-beom immediately kicked the ball. It was connected to Cho Gyu-sung that the Saudi defense could clear it, and Cho Gyu-sung effortlessly changed the direction with his head and hit the net.Just two minutes after Cho Kyu-sung’s goal, Son Heung-min was grounded due to a referee’s decision. Cho Gyu-seong cut off the opponent’s pass and put a pass toward Son Heung-min, who was infiltrating. After receiving this, Son Heung-min broke into the box and seemed to have a one-on-one opportunity. However, a late tackle from the opposing defense came in, and the tackle could not touch the ball and only hit Son Heung-min’s foot.
It was an obvious penalty kick situation where the opponent tripped and fell, but the referee continued the game as is. Son Heung-min expressed his deep disappointment by hitting the ground several times, asking why they didn’t give him a penalty kick. It was a shame that there was no VAR because it was a friendly match.Still, Son Heung-min proved his class until the end. He was on the pitch for 89 minutes before being replaced by Oh Hyun-gyu in the 44th minute of the second half, opening up an offensive path.According to Footmob, a soccer statistics company, Son Heung-min was the player who created the most opportunities for both teams combined, recording 7 opportunities on this day. He created two decisive chances, also the most. With a pass success rate of 81%, long pass success rate of 100%, and cross success rate of 80%, the rating was the highest at 8.0 even though the play focused on helping teammates around rather than scoring goals.Although Son Heung-min was unable to score as he was robbed of a penalty kick opportunity due to an unclear referee decision, Son Heung-min proved his class as a playmaker leading the attack.Photo = PA Wire/Yonhap News