Klinsmann to try out for Asian Cup title in UAE… Middle East teams are being sought after
Klinsmann’s men will face Middle Eastern opponents in a series of trials ahead of the Asian Cup in Qatar, where they will try to win their first title in 64 years.
The Korea Football Association said on Nov. 11 that the South Korean national team, led by coach Jürgen Klinsmann, will play an evaluation match at a training camp in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Nov. 6.
The KFA did not reveal the opponent, but Middle Eastern teams such as Iraq, the UAE and Qatar are reportedly in the running.
South Korea has been knocked out of the Asian Cup by teams from the Middle East in the past, so it seems to be a plan to get a solid “shot in the arm” against a Middle Eastern team.
South Korea hasn’t won the Asian Cup since the second edition in 1960.
It has always vowed to prove itself as the ‘strongest team in Asia’ but has failed every time, many of them at the hands of Middle Eastern teams.
At the last edition in the UAE in 2019, South Korea packed up after losing to Qatar in the quarterfinals.
At the 2007 Southeast Asian Games, they lost to Iraq on penalties in the semifinals, ending their championship dreams.
In 2004 in China, they lost to Iran in the quarterfinals, and in 2000 in Lebanon, they were eliminated by Saudi Arabia in the semifinals.
In the 1996 tournament in the UAE, the team suffered a nightmare in the quarterfinals, losing to Iran by a whopping score of 2-6.
Klinsmann’s quest to win the Asian Cup begins on June 26.
On that day, the main domestic players will convene for training near Seoul.
The list of players who will participate in the domestic training camp will be announced on the 18th.
The final roster for the tournament will be announced in the last week of December, and the squad will travel to Abu Dhabi for a final tune-up before heading to training camp next month.
The overseas players will join Klinsmann at the Abu Dhabi training camp.
As a continental tournament, the Asian Cup allows teams to call up players up to two weeks before their first match.
With South Korea’s first group game against Bahrain on Jan. 15, overseas players such as Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and Kim Min-jae (Munich) will be able to join the squad from the start.
Klinsmann’s squad will play an exhibition match on June 6 and arrive in Doha, Qatar, on June 10 for the final match.
South Korea’s first match in Group E, against Bahrain, will kick off at 8:30 p.m. (KST) on March 15, followed by the second match against Jordan at 8:30 p.m. on March 20, and the third match against Malaysia at 8:30 p.m. on March 25.
Meanwhile, Klinsmann also returned home on the same day to begin preparations for the Asian Cup in earnest.
Klinsmann will visit Ulsan Munsoo Football Stadium on the 12th and Jeonju World Cup Stadium on the 13th to watch the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League (ACL) matches between Ulsan Hyundai and Kawasaki Frontale (Japan) and Jeonbuk Hyundai and Bangkok United (Thailand) and check on the players. 슬롯게이밍