Minjae and Seung Hyun… Klinsmann’s seven-match scoring drought broken

South Korea’s seven-match scoreless streak was halted. Klinsmann checked the center back pairing of Kim Min-jae and Jung Seung-hyun, and the forward pairing of Kim Young-kwon and Jung Seung-hyun.

Jürgen Klinsmann’s South Korea national soccer team defeated Bahrain 3-1 in Group E of the 2023 AFC Qatar Asian Cup on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. ET at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. Hwang In-Beom opened the scoring in the 38th minute and Lee Kang-In scored a brace in the 11th and 23rd minutes of the second half to hold off Bahrain, who were held to a late Ali Al Hashashi strike in the fifth minute, and eased through the first gateway to Asia’s top flight.

Klinsmann started the game with his usual 4-2-3-1 formation. It featured striker Cho Kyu-sung up front, Son Heung-min, Lee Jae-sung, and Kang-in in the second line, Hwang In-beom and Park Yong-woo in the midfield, and Lee Ki-je, Kim Min-jae, Jung Seung-hyun, and Seol Young-woo in the defense. Kim Seung-gyu started in goal.

South Korea’s defensive line collected two cautions in the first half alone. Center back Kim Min-jae was cautioned in the 13th minute of the first half, followed by left fullback Lee Ki-jae in the 28th minute. Earlier, defensive midfielder Park Yong-woo picked up the team’s first caution in the ninth minute, limiting the defense as a whole.

Klinsmann’s concession to Bahrain in the sixth minute of the second half ended a seven-match unbeaten streak dating back to last September’s 0-0 draw with Wales in a European friendly. Since then, South Korea has kept clean sheets against Saudi Arabia (1-0), Tunisia (4-0), Vietnam (6-0), Singapore (5-0), China (3-0) and Iraq (1-0).

The central defense, which was previously guarded by Kim Min-jae and Kim Young-kwon, was changed to Kim Min-jae and Jung Seung-hyun after Klinsmann’s appointment. However, against Bahrain, Jung Seung-hyun played the full 90 minutes, while Kim Min-jae and Kim Young-kwon played 45 minutes each to experiment with a different defense combination.

Of course, given that Kim Min-jae received a card early on, this was also a substitution to prevent a red card. However, the combination of Kim Young-kwon and Jeong Seung-hyun was experimented with in an exhibition match against Iraq before the Asian Cup, so it’s possible that the Kim Young-kwon-Jeong Seung-hyun combination could be an entirely new defensive option if Kim Min-jae is unavailable.

In any case, Klinsmann’s long scoreless streak has come to an end. Given the yellow card risk, it’s time to start thinking about new defensive combinations that cover not only the center defense but also the flanks.

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