Korea ­defeat Bahrain 3-1 in the first group match at Asia Cup

A match between South Korea and Bahrain during the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup 2023 Group E match at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on July 15, 2018. Lee Kang-in scores a goal for South Korea. Yonhap News Agency

Korea beat Bahrain 3-1 in the first match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar on January 15. Korean national footballers got off to a good start for their bid for a first Asian Cup title in 64 years.

The Korean national football team, led by head coach Jürgen Klinsmann, won 3-1 against Bahrain in the first group match of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Monday with an opening goal by Hwang In-beom of Crvena Zvezda and multiple goals by Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain.

Klinsmann put in key European players, such as Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur, Lee Kang-in, and Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich, as starters. Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers, who has been working hard to recover from discomfort in his left hip muscle, and Kim Jin-soo of Jeonbuk Hyundai, who has been suffering an injury to his calf, were excluded from the roster.

Cho Kyu-sung of FC Midtjylland and Son Heung-min played up front, while Lee Kang-in and Lee Jae-sung of FSV Mainz came back and forth between the sides and the midfield to support. Hwang In-beom served as a commander of the midfield. Seol Young-woo and Jung Seung-hyun of Ulsan HD, Kim Min-jae, and Lee Ki-je of Suwon Samsung Bluewings were in charge of the four-back defense, while Park Yong-woo of Al Ain FC) served as a defensive midfielder. Kim Seung-gyu (Al-Shabaab) kept goal.

It was a lineup aimed at scoring lots of goals, but it didn't work out at the beginning of the match. In fact, Korea conceded a free kick from the deep left area in the sixth minute but, fortunately, escaped the critical moment without giving a goal.

The Korean national team began to take the lead in the match after the 20th minute with Lee Jae-sung's active movement on the left side was threatening. In the 20th minute, Lee's cross was connected to Hwang In-beom's header, but it was far off. In the 29th minute, Lee’s cross found the foot of Cho Kyu-sung in a counterattack chance made by Park Yong-woo, but it failed to lead to a goal.

After missing a crucial chance from Lee Kang-in's cross from the right side in the 35th minute, Lee Jae-sung quickly received a pass from Kim Min-jae and gave the ball to Son Heung-min who passed it to Hwang In-beom who calmly scored the opening goal three minutes later.

Korea led 1-0 in the first half, but gave Abdulla Al-Hashash the equalizer at the start of the second half. In a chaotic situation, the ball was connected to Al-Hashash in front of the net, and the Bahraini forward scored the goal in the 51st minute.

However, the tie did not last long as Korea immediately took the lead again. In the 10th minute, Lee Kang-in caught the ball that Kim Min-jae quickly connected from the left side about 10 meters away from the front of the penalty box and shot it with his left foot, and the curved shot shook Bahrain's net.

Lee did not miss the chance that Son Heung-min made in the 23rd minute of the second half by taking advantage of the confusing situation over whether he was out of the touchline. Lee didn't miss his second chance of the game in the 68th minute when Son by taking advantage of a confusing situation over whether he was out of the touchline. Lee, who caught the ball from the other side passed by Hwang In-beom, scored an additional goal with his left foot.

The Korean national team continued to lead the game with aggressive attacks. Korea replaced players who received yellow cards in the last minutes and comfortably secured their first victory in the competition.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.