On January 15, Beijing time, in the first round of the group stage of the Asian Cup, the South Korean team faced the Bahrain team. In the first half of the game, the Chinese referee on duty Ma Ning showed 5 yellows (3 in South Korea, 2 in Bahrain), Li Zaicheng assisted Huang Renfan to break the deadlock; in the second half, after the Bahrain team equalized, Li Gangren scored twice to help the South Korean team finally win 3-1 to get a good start, it is worth mentioning that in the second half, Ma Ning's law enforcement scale was relaxed, only 2 yellow cards were shown, and the 7 yellows in the whole game tied the record for the number of yellow cards in this tournament.
South Korea and Bahrain have met in the last 5 times, with 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in regular time, and in the knockout round of the last tournament, South Korea defeated Bahrain in extra time to advance.
In the 6th minute, Bahrain won a free kick on the left side of the penalty area, Aswad took the penalty to send the ball to the goal, Mahon grabbed the header and hit the goal, but the ball was headed high.
In the 9th minute, Park Yong-woo knocked down Ali Madan with his knee in the confrontation and was shown the first yellow card of the game by Manin.
In the 13th minute, Kim Min-jae returned to the defense and knocked down Ma Hong from behind, and Ma Ning showed a yellow card warning again.
In the 21st minute, South Korea made a cross from the left side, and Hwang In-bum inserted a header to rush to the top, but failed to hit the target. In the 23rd minute, Park Yong-woo took the ball at the front of the penalty area to adjust, and the last long-range shot failed to suppress and flew directly.
In the 28th minute, Li Jidi pulled down Ali Madan with a tactical foul, and Ma Ning showed the third yellow card of the first half.
In the 30th minute, South Korea sent in a low cross from the left, and Cho Kyu-sung cut in and ran past unguarded at close range, missing a good opportunity to break the deadlock for the team.
In the 32nd minute, Hasash went straight to the goal, Ali Madan stepped forward into the penalty area, faced Kim Seung-kyu, and missed the target with a push.
In the 36th minute, the South Korean team crossed the ball from the right side, and Lee Gang-in at the back point outflanked the close-range sweeping shot.
In the 38th minute, the South Korean team's free kick in the backfield went straight to Lee Jae-seong on the left side of the front field, Lee Jae-seong inverted the triangle low flat ball crossed, the front point player ran over, and Hwang In-bum at the back point pushed the far corner to win, and the South Korean team broke the deadlock, 1-0.
In the 43rd minute, Son Heung-min was brought down at the edge of the penalty area, and the South Korean team got a free kick opportunity. At the end of the first half, South Korea led 1-0.
As soon as the second half came up, substitute Baguil kicked Son Heung-min behind him, but Ma Ning did not say anything.
In the 50th minute, Ade crossed, Ali Madan failed to kick the ball with a barb shot, and Aswad at the back point pushed the shot, which was saved by Kim Seung-kyu.
In the 51st minute, the Bahrain team's attack came again, the South Korean team's defenders were not clean, and Hashashi scored from close range in front of the goal, and the Bahrain team quickly equalized in the second half, 1-1.
In the 56th minute, Lee Gang-in received a pass at the front of the penalty area, shook off the defense by the way, and shot a long-range shot to hit the world wave, the Bahrain goalkeeper had no choice, and the South Korean team took the lead again, 2-1.
In the 59th minute, Son Heung-min volleyed from close range in the penalty area, but Bahrain goalkeeper Lufata made a key save to lift the ball off the line.
In the 68th minute, Lee Gang-in took the ball into the penalty area, deducted the defense and then pushed the far corner with his left foot, and after scoring a brace, the South Korean team led 3-1.
In the 78th minute, after Li Gangren's powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area was blocked, Lee Jae-seong at the back point met the ball and pushed it into the far corner, but the ball grazed the post.
In the 80th minute, Aswad sent a free kick from the right side of the field to the goal, and Bagir's header was confiscated, but the goal was also offside.
In the 87th minute, Li Gangren made a long-distance straight stop, and Son Xingmin stepped forward to pick up the goalkeeper, but the final push shot grazed the post, and Son Xingmin missed a good opportunity to score.
In the 4th minute of stoppage time, Son Xingmin was shown a yellow card for faking a fall.
In the ensuing match, both teams were unsuccessful, and in the end, South Korea beat Bahrain 3-1 to get off to a good start.
South Korea's line-up: 1-Kim Seung-kyu, 2-Lee Ji Di (28' yellow card 52 mins, 23-Kim Tae-hwan), 4-Kim Min-jae (13' yellow card), 5-Park Yong-woo (9' yellow card 82 mins, 16-Park Jin-sub), 22-Xue Young-woo, 15-Jung Seung-hyun, 6-Hwang In-beom, 10-Lee Jae-seong (82 mins 17-Jung Woo-yeong), 18-Lee Gang-in, 7-Son Heung-min (90+' yellow card), 9-Cho Gyu-sung (61' yellow card)
Bahrain line-up: 22-Lufata, 2-Benadi (46 mins 4-Bajir), 18-Ade (72 mins 20-Humadan), 19-Hazaali, 3-Khayam, 13-Jonah (45' yellow card, 65 mins, 24-Alsalama), 10-Aswad, 6-Hadan, 7-Ali Madan (31' yellow card), 8-Mahon, 14-Hashash (65 mins 9-Yusuf al-Hilal)