At 19:30 on January 25, Beijing time, the 3rd round of Group E of the 2023 Asian Cup group stage: South Korea VS Malaysia.
After the first two rounds of Group E, Jordan and South Korea ranked first and second with 1 win, 1 draw and 4 points, Bahrain ranked third with 1 win and 1 loss and 3 points, and Malaysia was at the bottom with 0 points.
South Korea has already qualified early, but in the end it will be first in the group, second or third, and it will not be known until the game is over, but South Korea may not want to fight for this first place, because the opponent of the first place in Group E to the 1/8 final will be the second in Group B, the biggest favorite to win the championship. South Korea's goal is to win the championship, so they definitely don't want to take the initiative to touch Japan early.
So in this game, South Korea should not want to win, and even want to lose, FIFA is ranked 130th in the world, limited strength and has been out of the tournament early, it is unlikely to get points from South Korea.
Of course, these are just our thoughts. Before the game, South Korean coach Klinsmann refuted South Korea's remarks that he wanted to avoid Japan or Saudi Arabia, saying that he would go all out to win the group, in other words, the 1/8 final is to fight Japan.
The Germans don't talk about military strategy?
Yes, South Korea started the 442 formation, Cho Gyu-sung and Son Heung-min partnered in the front, midfielders Jung You-yeong, Hwang In-beom, Lee Jae-seong, Lee Gang-in, four defenders Xue Young-woo, Kim Young-kwon, Kim Min-jae, Kim Tae-hwan, and goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo. The starting eleven is worth a total of 150 million euros.
South Korea's main force has been exhausted, which shows that it does not want to take the initiative to fight for the first place.
Malaysia started the 343 formation, Darren Le, Fasel Haring, Arif, midfielders Corbin Ong, Stewart, Brendan Gan, Daniel Ding, three central defenders Tan Chun Yan, Dieng Kus, Sharuol, goalkeeper Hazmi. The starting eleven is worth a total of 3.55 million euros.
In the 9th minute, Cho Gyu-sung formed a single knife, but did not complete the shot.
In the 15th minute, Son Xingmin shot into the penalty area and was saved by the goalkeeper.
In the 21st minute, Zheng Youying hit the goal with a header, which was fished out of the goal by the Malaysian goalkeeper, and the ball had crossed the goal line as a whole. South Korea leads Malaysia 1-0.
In the 36th minute, Li Gangren shot from outside the penalty area and was won by the goalkeeper.
In the 38th minute, Son Heung-min took the ball on the side and hit the goal, which was saved by the goalkeeper.
In the 51st minute, Huang Renfan was cut off with the ball, and Malacia organized a counterattack, and Haring scored the goal. Malaysia drew 1:1 with South Korea.
In the 60th minute, Xue Yingyou knocked down Hanapi in the penalty area, VAR intervened, the referee awarded a penalty, Hanapi scored a penalty, and Malaysia overtook South Korea 2:1.
In the 83rd minute, South Korea's front free kick, Lee Gang-in hit the goal with a direct shot. South Korea 2:2 Malaysia.
In stoppage time, Oh Hyun-hyun made a penalty and Son Heung-min took the penalty. South Korea 3:2 Malaysia.
In the final moments, Morales scored the equaliser. Malaysia 3:3 South Korea.
In the end, South Korea accumulated 5 points from 3 games, 1 win and 2 draws, ranking first in Group E, avoiding Japan in the 1/8 finals, and Bahrain, which defeated Jordan 1:0 to rise to the top of the group, will face Japan in the 1/8 finals.