Korea advance to Round of 16 after 3-3 draw with Malaysia

Korea ended the group stage at the delayed 2023 Asian Cup with another disappointing result, drawing 3-3 with Malaysia to advance to the knockout stage with just one win and two draws.

Lee Kang-in scores a free kick in the 83rd minute of an Asian Cup group stage game between Korea and Malaysia at Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar on Thursday. [NEWS1]

Korea ended the group stage at the delayed 2023 Asian Cup with another disappointing result, drawing 3-3 with Malaysia to advance to the knockout stage with just one win and two draws.

It was a difficult night for the Taeguk Warriors at Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar, with what should have been a one-sided affair turning into a war of attrition that Korea proved unequipped to fight.

Korea — ranked at No. 23 in the world and the third-best team in Asia — got off to a slow start against Malaysia — No. 130 in the world and the 23rd-best team in Asia — failing to make much of an impact until Jeong Woo-yeong headed in the opening goal in the 21st minute.

That remained it for the first half, with Korea staying on top until shortly after the break when Faisal Halim tied things up in the 51st.

A penalty 10 minutes later put Malaysia up 2-1, with Korea proving unable to respond until the 83rd minute, when Lee Kang-in placed a free kick in the top right corner — after bouncing it between the goalkeeper's hand and the crossbar enough times for it to be ruled an own goal.

Captain Son Heung-min then put Korea ahead at the start of injury time, converting a penalty after a foul on Oh Hyeon-gyu, only for Malaysia to tie things up 15 minutes into the 12 minutes of stoppage time that was extended because of the earlier penalty.

The end result is a big win for Malaysia, who were guaranteed to exit the tournament whatever happened, and a drop down to second place for Korea, who will now face either Saudi Arabia or Thailand in the knockout stage, depending on the result of Friday’s game between the two teams.

Despite another tough game — Korea end the group stage with a single 3-1 win against Bahrain and a 2-2 draw with Jordan — there was some good news for the Taeguk Warriors.

Thursday saw the return of midfielder Hwang Hee-chan, absent from the first two games due to injury but returning as a substitute in the 62nd minute against Malaysia.

Hwang’s return was immediately evident in the speed of Korea’s attacks, and likely means head coach Jurgen Klinsmann will be able to start the veteran midfielder in the knockout stage in place of Cho Gue-sung, who has failed to impress in any of the three games so far.

Lee Kang-in, responsible for three of Korea’s eight goals in the tournament so far, again proved how important he is to the squad, stepping up as both a key playmaker and goal scorer, a role that Son has found difficult to fill with intense man-marking in every game so far.

Starting Jeong Woo-yeong, who came on as a substitute in the last two games, also proved effective, the young midfielder sitting further back and wider than he has previously been used.

But concerns obviously remain. The Taeguk Warriors were expected to breeze their way through all three group stage games, taking three big wins rather than one win and two nervy draws. The results are disappointing, especially with far bigger opponents to come in the knockout stage.

Part of the problem seems to be Korea’s inability to adapt to a team that plays very deep defense — something that nearly all teams in Asia are likely to do when faced with big names like Son, Hwang and Lee. The Taeguk Warriors do not appear to have a strategy to breakup this intense defense, regularly falling apart due to sheer weight of numbers.

Another concern is at the other end of the pitch, where regular goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu is out with an injury and has been replaced by former No. 1 Jo Hyeon-woo. Jo, whose heyday was really back in the late 2010s, seems to lack Kim’s decisiveness in front of goal, caught off his line or moving too late a few too many times for comfort already this tournament.

Klinsmann and the Korea squad now get five days to regroup before their round of 16 game on the evening of Jan. 30, or at 1 a.m. on Jan. 31 in Korea.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]