The South Korean national football team, led by Jürgen Klinsmann (GER), earned their first win at home against Tunisia.
South Korea, ranked 26th in the world by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), defeated Tunisia, ranked 29th, 4-0 in a friendly match at the Hana Bank Invitational Football Team at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday.
After a 0-0 first half, South Korea took the lead through Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who scored two consecutive goals in the 10th and 12th minutes of the second half.
Lee opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a left-footed curler from a free kick on the right diagonal of the penalty area, and two minutes later he opened the Tunisian account with a left-footed turner from inside the penalty area.
In the 21st minute of the second half, Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) made it 3-0 when his header from a corner kick deflected off Tunisian defender Yassine Marja and into the net.
Second-half substitute Hwang Eui-jo (Norwich City) then made it 4-0 in added time to complete the rout.
It was Klinsmann’s first win at home since taking over in February this year. It was also the first back-to-back wins since a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in England in September.
Klinsmann’s record in A matches since taking over is two wins, three draws and two losses.
South Korea lined up with Cho Kyu-sung (Mitwillan) up front, with Lee Kang-in supporting him in attack.
Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), Hong Hyun-seok (Ghent) and Park Yong-woo (Al Ain) combined in midfield, while Kim Min-jae, Jung Seung-hyun, Seol Young-woo (Ulsan) and Lee Ki-je (Suwon) lined up in defence.
Kim Seung-kyu (Al-Shabaab) started in goal.
Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) did not play due to his recent controversy with the club and the fact that his leg muscles are not in perfect condition.
The first half was an exploratory affair. Neither team had a single corner kick and the shots on target were 3-1. Neither South Korea nor Tunisia had a shot on target in the first half.
However, the Seoul World Cup Stadium erupted into a frenzy at the start of the second half as Lee Kang-in put on a ‘one-man show’ with back-to-back goals.
In the 10th minute of the second half, Lee scored his first goal of the tournament when he converted a free kick awarded to him after a foul by Yasu Shahiri.
In the 12th minute, Lee was brought down while battling with a defender in the penalty area, but he got up, stole the ball, turned around and scored with a left-footed shot.
The third goal, a header by Kim Min-jae in the 21st minute of the second half, was disallowed as the ball hit a defender’s body.
In the second half, Park Yong-woo headed in a goal kick that was saved by the opponent’s goalkeeper, and the ball flowed into the attacking zone, where Hwang Eui-jo ran onto it and scored with a right-footed shot.
With the victory, Korea levelled their head-to-head record against Tunisia at one win, one draw and one loss.
In particular, the Korean defence has shown stability, keeping a clean sheet in three consecutive A matches since September against Wales (0-0) and Saudi Arabia (1-0).
Klinsmann’s men will shift venues to Suwon World Cup Stadium in Gyeonggi Province on the 17th for a friendly against Vietnam (95th). 안전놀이터