“We will beat Japan in the Asian Cup final.”
After watching his team win gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, South Korea men’s national soccer team coach Jürgen Klinsmann made his goal clear once again. He’s determined to beat big rival Japan at the Asian Cup (Qatar next January) and come out on top.
“The Asian Cup is three months away,” Klinsmann said at a press conference at the national team’s training center in Paju on Monday. “It’s time to focus and prepare for the Asian Cup with continuity and continuity. We will definitely win.”
South Korea hasn’t won the Asian Cup since losing back-to-back titles in 1956 and 1960. “Korea is a team that is very hungry to win the Asian Cup,” Klinsmann said, adding, “It’s not the time for new players, it’s the time to focus on the Asian Cup with eight to 10 players who are the backbone.”
South Korea will play Tunisia on Sept. 13 in Seoul and Vietnam on Sept. 17 in Suwon. Next month is the Asian qualifier for the 2026 North and Central American World Cup, followed by the Asian Cup in January. The games against Tunisia and Vietnam are effectively the final trials.
Therefore, Klinsmann called up most of his main players, including Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Hwang In-beom (Zvezda), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Cho Kyu-sung (Mitwylan) and Hwang Eui-jo (Norwich).
In fact, the current Asian powerhouse is Japan. The Japanese have been performing well against world powerhouses, including a recent victory over Germany. “The Koreans are just as good as the Japanese,” Klinsmann said, “and it helps to have a big rival. We want to beat Japan in the Asian Cup final.” “I would like to see us play Japan a few times a year from now on,” Klinsmann said, explaining that “when you play them often, you learn and respect each other, and you can win.” “When I was the head coach of the U.S. National Team, I grew up playing Mexico, which was a powerhouse at the time, and we played Germany three times and won twice,” Klinsmann added.
“Congratulations on the Asian Games gold medal,” Klinsmann said, “and it’s great to see the athletes resolve what has been a very stressful military service issue.” Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart), who was also part of the Asian Games squad, was the top scorer with eight goals. “It was a good move for him to move to Stuttgart after a difficult time in Freiburg last season,” said Klinsmann, “and I hope he can continue his good work with the A team.” “Paris Saint-Germain is a very high level team, different from his previous club,” he said of Lee, “and he is starting his career now. He must be thirsty for playing time. We’re going to utilize him and give him a lot of minutes.” “Being 토토 selected to the national team is an honor that not everyone can enjoy,” Klinsmann said. “Europeans are really happy when they come to Korea and want to play for a long time in front of the people. We’ll take their form into consideration.”
Klinsmann has been criticized for his other work as a soccer commentator in foreign countries. “As a national team coach, you have to learn about international soccer trends. “If you’re a national team coach, you have to learn about international soccer trends, and the teams we’re going to play are all abroad,” he said, adding, “Anywhere I have a laptop is my office. I’m not going to change the way I’ve been doing things.”
