A S. Korea low as Klinsmann’s men dumped out by Jordan
DOHA — Son Heung-min apologized and said he was “devastated” after South Korea crashed out of the Asian Cup in a stunning 2-0 semifinal defeat to underdog Jordan on Tuesday.
The Koreans were hoping to win the tournament for the first time since 1960, but they failed to muster a single shot on target against a Jordan side ranked 64 places below them in the world standings.
Tottenham star Son said his team had been nervous and “did not want to make a mistake”.
“Very disappointed, devastated about this result,” the 31-year-old skipper told beIN Sports.
“Jordan is having an amazing journey at this tournament. It deserves it, it fought to the end.
“For us it was a very disappointing night.”
South Korea was on the brink of elimination in both previous knockout rounds, but survived after scoring late equalizers.
This time, though, it had no reply when Yazan Al Naimat and Mousa Tamari fired Jordan in front in the second half, with Jurgen Klinsmann’s men rarely looking capable of scoring.
Jordan reached the final for the first time, and will face either Iran or Qatar for the title on Saturday.
Son said South Korea had to “learn from these mistakes”.
“We have to look forward, there is no time for regret,” he said.
“Now, I have to go back to my club and be ready for the rest of the season.”
Son scored three goals at the tournament — two coming from the penalty spot and one from a freekick in extra time that gave the South Korean’s a quarterfinal win over Australia.
The crestfallen forward apologized to fans, saying he was “terribly sorry that we didn’t live up to their expectations”.
“I will try to get better as a player and I will also help our national team take the next step,” he told reporters.
Shell-shocked
Playing in the semifinals for the first time, Jordan fully deserved its victory over Klinsmann’s shellshocked side.
Jordan had more of the chances, and deservedly went ahead soon after the break, with Naimat scoring his third goal of the tournament after South Korea gave the ball away cheaply.
The door was firmly shut on South Korea’s hopes for a place in the final when Tamari sliced his way through its defense 13 minutes later.
South Korea simply could not handle the attacking duo of Naimat and Tamari.
“Actually, I was dreaming about this tournament before, when I was in France,” said the 26-year-old man of the match Tamari, who plays for French side Montpellier.
“It means everything to me to be in the final, and I hope we can do it,” added Tamari, who also had an assist to his name, teeing up Naimat for the first goal of the night.
“It’s also good to be in the final, because it will make everyone in France speak about my country, and this is very emotional for me.”
Son stood in disbelief with his hands on his hips at the final whistle, while coach Klinsmann said his side could have no complaints.
“I am disappointed, I am angry,” said the German.
“We did not turn up in the first 20 to 30 minutes.”
Klinsmann had made it his stated goal to reach the final in Qatar. Asked if he will now step down, he said: “There was a lot of good stuff we saw. It is a team that is growing and still needs to develop towards the next World Cup.
“There is a lot of work ahead of us. Apart from that, I am not thinking about anything else.”
‘Defend this shirt’
Jordan was the underdog — despite the teams drawing 2-2 in the group phase — but it shaded an entertaining first half, in which it racked up 12 attempts at goal to South Korea’s four.
In front of 43,000 at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, South Korean goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo was busy almost from the off, saving a shot from Noor Al Rawabdeh, after some good work from Tamari.
Jordan’s Moroccan coach Hussein Ammouta said that his players “delivered a heroic performance”.
“What you saw today was the fruition of several years of work,” he said.
“We must defend this shirt with everything we’ve got.
“We are growing more ambitious by the hour.”