South Korea’s quest for their first Asian Cup title in 64 years faced a significant setback as coach Jurgen Klinsmann announced on Friday that their primary goalkeeper, Kim Seung-Gyu (33), will miss the remainder of the tournament due to a knee injury.
Kim, who participated in their 3-1 victory over Bahrain, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during a training session leading up to their second match against Jordan on Saturday.
“We’re very sad about Seung-Gyu’s injury but it’s part of sport; it happens in tournaments but we have to move on. We keep him in our thoughts and we fight for him,” Klinsmann told reporters.
“What I told the team was that we are here and we have a mission, which is to stay till the end of the tournament.”
South Korean midfielder Lee Jae-Sung said the injury to one of their most senior players had motivated them to go deeper in the tournament.
“Being an athlete, I know how much being injured hurts. But there are 25 other players in the squad. We’re all together in this and hopefully, it gives us extra motivation to go far,” he said.
South Korea are in disciplinary trouble after five players were booked in their group opener, including skipper Son Heung-Min and centre-back Kim Min-Jae.
One more yellow card will result in a suspension for the following game but Klinsmann said he would not ask his players to exercise caution.
“We obviously didn’t want so many yellow cards. Obviously, if you get a second one, they miss a game. It’s part of football; two or three could have been avoided—the players know that too—but it’s something you have to live with,” he said.
“Managing yellows is something for the players to look at. As a player, you need to trust your instincts; you can’t be too cautious. If it happens, it happens.”
Jordan are at the top of Group E after beating Malaysia 4-0 and although many expect the Middle Eastern side to play defensively against a team 64 rungs above them in the world rankings, Klinsmann thinks otherwise.
“Jordan will make it difficult and frustrating for us and we need to find a way to break them down,” the German said.
“But if you score four goals, you’re not a defensive-minded team… If the coach fields a defensive-minded team, that’s his choice.
“They’ve proven they’re dangerous; they can counter-attack really fast and have gifted players up front. We have to be alert.”
Klinsmann additionally verified that Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan is now free from pain and has resumed training after sitting out the initial game due to injury.