Jürgen Klinsmann, head coach of the national team, removed all strikers from the starting list for the match against Iraq, which is the "final mock test" of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation AFC Asian Cup.
Captain Son Heung-min Tottenham, Lee Kang-in Paris Saint-Germain and Hwang Hee-chan Wolverhampton, who were in charge of the side attacks of the Clinsman, started the warm-up match against Iraq at New York University Abu Dhabi Stadium in the United Arab Emirates UAE on the 6th.
Cho Kyu-sung Mit Whelan, who took the main striker position under coach Klinsmann, also gave up his position as a front-line striker to Oh Hyun-kyu Celtic.
The place where these "signboard-class European players" were missing was filled by "new European players." Oh Hyun-kyu, Jung Woo-young Stuttgart and Hong Hyun-seok Hent were responsible for the attack.
In fact, the national team's attack, which came first as a "1.5-team level," did not carry any weight until the middle of the first half.
It is ranked 63rd in the FIFA rankings, and is considered one step below Korea 23rd.
South Korea failed to open the goal until the 40th minute of the first half against Iraq, a relatively weak team.
In October and November last year, Klinsmann, who scored 18 goals in four A matches between national teams, was a pity for the strikers, who rarely took advantage of the goal opportunity.
The player who relieved this frustration was veteran midfielder Lee Jae-sung Mainz.
When playing with Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in, Lee Jae-sung, who devoted himself to "bad things" such as forward pressure to focus on the attack, showed his attacking instinct properly for the first time in a long time.
In the 40th minute of the first half, when the ball flowed out of the right corner of the penalty box, he hit the top corner of the Iraqi goal with a powerful left-footed shot.
Lee Jae-sung, who produced three shots and two effective shots in the first 45 minutes, led the first-half 1-0 lead with the Klinsmann's offense, recording a pass success rate of more than 95%. 스포츠토토
Lee Jae-seong, who had scored nine goals in 77 A-matches before the match, last scored a goal in a World Cup final qualifying match in Qatar on Nov. 17, 2021. He also faced Iraq at the time.
Lee Jae-sung is a key resource in the midfield under former coach Paulo Bento, who succeeded in advancing to the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar, and under the current coach Klinsmann, who aimed to win the Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years.
Since Klinsmann took office, Lee Jae-sung missed the 10 A-matches he played last year only against Chile in June and Tunisia in October.
Lee Jae-sung, who played his role as a veteran by scoring a goal in 780 days against Iraq, handed over Baton to the main strikers in the second half.
At the same time as the second half, Cho Kyu-sung, Hwang Hee-chan, Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in were deployed as Lee Jae-sung entered the bench along with Oh Hyun-kyu, Jung Woo-young and Hong Hyun-seok.