Minus Son: South Korea is trying to avenge its Asian Cup defeat against Jordan in the World Cup qualifier

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) – South Korea will be without their captain Son Heung-min this week as they seek revenge for a crushing defeat by Jordan in their World Cup qualifier.

World No. 23 South Korea will face 68th-ranked Jordan in a Group B match in the third round of Asian World Cup qualifying at the Amman International Stadium in Amman on Thursday. Kick-off is at 5:00 p.m. local time or 11:00 p.m. in South Korea.

Minus Son: South Korea is trying to avenge its Asian Cup defeat against Jordan in the World Cup qualifier — Hong Myung-bo (C), head coach of the South Korea men's national football team, speaks with defender Park Yong-woo (L) and midfielder Eom Ji-sung during the team's indoor training session at the Sheraton Amman Al Nabil Hotel in Amman. Jordan, on October 7, 2024, in this photo provided by the Korean Football Association. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

It is the third game in Group B for both teams. Jordan leads the group with four points. South Korea also has four points and the two nations have the same goal difference at +2, but Jordan has the edge in goals scored in the next tiebreaker at 4-3.

Iraq, South Korea's opponents next week, also have four points but have a goal difference of +1.

Jordan defeated South Korea 2-0 in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup in February to take second place in the premier continental tournament. The defeat cost then South Korean head coach Jürgen Klinsmann his job.

And South Korea must now try to beat Jordan without Son, who is sidelined with a hamstring injury. The Tottenham Hotspur captain sustained the injury during a UEFA Europa League match against Qarabag in London on September 26 and has since missed three games for Spurs.

Kim Dong-jin (l), assistant coach of the South Korea men's national football team, talks to midfielders Hwang Hee-chan (c) and Paik Seung-ho during the team's indoor training session at the Sheraton Amman Al Nabil Hotel in Amman. Jordan, on October 7, 2024, in this photo provided by the Korean Football Association. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

South Korean head coach Hong Myung-bo initially included Son in his 26-man squad on September 30, but dropped him four days later. He called up Mainz 05 midfielder Hong Hyun-seok to replace Son.

Announcing his squad, coach Hong said he had a plan B in mind in case Son couldn't go, and he also had confidence in the abilities of other attackers to fill the void.

One of those players, Wolverhampton Wanderers' Hwang Hee-chan, needs to shake off his slow start to the new Premier League season and take on the scoring load for the national team.

After leading Wolves with 12 goals last season, Hwang is yet to score in six league games so far this season. He only started two of those six contests and only played the full 90 minutes once.

Explaining his decision to continue relying on Hwang, Hong said that an ailing player can feel rejuvenated after an international appearance and he hoped that would be the case for Hwang.

Hwang performed well for South Korea at the start of the third round last month. He was the offensive spark in the team's goalless draw with Palestine on September 5 and scored the first goal in South Korea's 3-1 win over Oman five days later.

Three months into his term, Hong remains under close scrutiny due to controversial circumstances surrounding his hiring.

Hong Hyun-seok (l) and Kim Ju-sung of the South Korea men's national soccer team train during the team's indoor training session at the Sheraton Amman Al Nabil Hotel in Amman, Jordan, October 7, 2024 (see photo). from the Korean Football Association. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The Sports Ministry is expected to complete its investigation into operations at the Korean Football Association (KFA) by the end of this month. In announcing preliminary results of its investigation last Wednesday, the ministry concluded that while the KFA violated rules in hiring Hong, those violations were not serious enough to void Hong's contract. The ministry also said problems would have been avoided if the KFA had negotiated a deal with Hong, who was at the top of the list of candidates, instead of interviewing two foreign-born candidates who were below him.

That didn't appease the angry fan base. Hong himself has expressed his disappointment at the situation, although there is little he can do at the moment other than coach South Korea to victories.

South Korea has participated in every World Cup since 1986.

[email protected]
(END)