SEOUL, Jo Hyeon-woo will start in goal for South Korea against Jordan in their second Group E match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup on Saturday in Qatar.
Jo, who started all three South Korean matches at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, is replacing Kim Seung-gyu, who was ruled out of the competition Friday after tearing a ligament in his right knee during a training session the previous day. Kim had started 10 of South Korea’s 12 matches under head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, beginning in March last year.
Kim had backstopped South Korea to a 3-1 victory over Bahrain in their first group match Monday. Jordan defeated Malaysia 4-0 later the same day.
The match against Jordan kicks off at 2:30 p.m. local time, or 8:30 p.m. in South Korean time, at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.
There is no other change to the rest of the starting lineup from the Bahrain match.
Cho Gue-sung of FC Midtjylland got the nod as the striker, with captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) a
nd Lee Jae-sung (Mainz 05) on the next line of attack. Lee Kang-in scored twice in Monday’s win.
Hwang In-beom (Crvena zvezda) and Park Yong-woo (Al Ain FC) will be the defensive conscience in midfield.
On defense, Bayern Munich stalwart Kim Min-jae and Jung Seung-hyun of Ulsan HD FC will be the men in the middle. They will be flanked by the same duo from Monday, Lee Ki-je of Suwon Samsung Bluewings on the left and Seo Young-woo of Ulsan on the right.
Five players from the starting unit will be playing with a yellow card picked up Monday: Son, Cho, Park Yong-woo, Kim Min-jae and Lee Ki-je.
Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers will miss his second straight match while dealing with a left hip injury. Klinsmann said during a prematch presser Friday that Hwang had been making progress and had “no pain anymore.” Klinsmann, though, fell short of setting a timetable for Hwang’s return.
A win will essentially assure South Korea of a spot in the knockout stage, open to the top two teams from each of the six
groups, plus four best third-place teams.
Source: Yonhap News Agency