Upstart Jordan stand between Korea and a shot at Asian Cup glory

Korea are now just one game away from their seventh Asian Cup final, with only a rematch against group stage rivals Jordan standing between the Taeguk Warriors and a shot at their first Asian title since 1960.

Son Heung-min, left, celebrates with Hwang Hee-chan after scoring during a quarterfinal match between Korea and Australia at the Asian Cup in Doha, Qatar on Feb. 2. [XINHUA/YONHAP]

Korea are now just one game away from their seventh Asian Cup final, with only a rematch against group stage rivals Jordan standing between the Taeguk Warriors and a shot at their first Asian title since 1960.

Korea will face Jordan in the semifinals at the Al-Rayyan Stadium in Qatar on Tuesday evening, or at midnight later that night in Korea. The winner of that game will advance to face either Iran or Qatar in the final on Feb. 10.

For Korea, a semifinal clash with Jordan should be a dream come true.

Ranked at No. 87 in the world and No. 13 in Asia, Jordan is not necessarily who you would expect to face in the semifinals of the continent's biggest tournament. But here they are, true underdogs in the final four having taken down Iraq in the round of 16 and Tajikistan, another improbably knockout contender, in the quarterfinals.

For Korea this is all good news. Ranked at No. 23 in the world, the Taeguk Warriors have never lost to Jordan, winning three and drawing three of their six clashes.

Things look a bit different this year. When the two sides met in the group stage, Korea only managed to salvage a 2-2 draw in the dying minutes of stoppage time after a lackluster game that Jordan looked certain to win.

That draw marked the first time since 2008 that Korea have failed to beat Jordan, with three 1-0 wins recorded since then.

But the Taeguk Warriors of 2024 seem determined to do things the hard way.

After a 3-1 win over Bahrain the opening game back on Jan. 15 — although even then it was an uncomfortably nervy performance that at one point went to 1-1 and might have stayed there if not for Lee Kang-in — Korea struggled to a 2-2 draw with Jordan on Jan. 20. That draw was a close thing, Jordan leading 2-1 until stoppage time when an own goal saved the day for Korea.

The third game of the group stage on Jan. 25 was even worse for Korea, a 3-3 draw with Malaysia — theoretically the weakest team in the group — that again saw Korea at one point slip behind 2-1.

Then came the knockout stage. In the round of 16 against Saudi Arabia, Korea would have gone out if Cho Gue-sung had not managed to head in an equalizer in the ninth minute of injury time. The Taeguk Warriors then held on through extra time to win on a penalty shootout.

The quarterfinal against Australia went the same way — Korea were down 1-0 until a stoppage time penalty tied things up and a goal in extra time took them over the line.

That leaves Korea with 11 goals in the tournament so far, three of which were penalties and five of which were scored in either stoppage time or extra time. Korea have only scored three goals in the first half — Hwang In-beom against Bahrain, Son Heung-min against Jordan and Jeong Woo-yeong against Malaysia — and even one of those was a penalty.

Put that together and it’s not a very pretty picture. Korea have been surviving on last-gasp goals and a lot of luck, and that sort of thing does not last forever.

Korea will also be without center-back Kim Min-jae against Jordan, the Bayern Munich defender ruled out after picking up a second yellow card against Australia.

That loss could be detrimental — Korea has struggled at the back throughout the tournament — but even without Kim, the Taeguk Warriors ought to be able to make it past Jordan.

There were some signs of improvement in the quarterfinals against Australia, the return of Hwang Hee-chan to the squad adding some new energy and, at times, allowing Son to play more like a former Premier League Golden Boot winner.

Lee Kang-in remains a decisive presence on the wing, the real issue being back in the center midfield holding spot where Hwang In-beom has proven unable to fill the boots left by Jung Woo-young, a Taeguk Warriors veteran sidelined since Klinsmann took the helm.

But while the Jordan game should be Korea’s to win, the real challenge is what comes next.

Whether it ends up being Qatar or Iran, the Asian Cup final will be a very difficult game to win.

Qatar, the reigning Asian Cup champions and the team responsible for knocking Korea out in 2019, arrive at the semifinals without a loss or a draw so far in the tournament. The hosts beat Lebanon, 3-0, Tajikistan, 1-0, and China, 1-0, in the group stage, advancing to take down Palestine, 2-1, and Uzbekistan, 3-2 on penalties, en route to the semifinals.

While the hosts have benefited from an easy ride so far, it’s always a mistake to underestimate Qatar. In 2019, they tore through Lebanon, North Korea and Saudi Arabia in the group stage and made short work of Iraq, Korea, the UAE and Japan to take the title.

This year, Iran are an even bigger threat. Ranked above Korea at No. 21 in the world, Iran have also won every game in the tournament so far.

After an easy group stage of Palestine, Hong Kong and the UAE — although Korea also had an easy group stage and look how that went — Iran went on to take down Syria in the round of 16 before knocking out Japan, the highest-ranked team in Asia, in the quarterfinals.

Korea, with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur’s Son, Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Hwang Hee-chan, Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in and Bayern’s Kim Min-jae, ought to be a real match for both teams, but that spark has still not been visible in the tournament so far.

But before Qatar or Iran, the first challenge is Jordan. Korea and Jordan will line up for a rematch in the semifinals of the 2023 Asian Cup at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, or at midnight that night in Korea.

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