What South Korea's Asian Cup exit means for Son Heung-min & Jurgen Klinsmann

 

South Korea manager Jurgen Klinsmann had to console captain Son Heung-min after their shock defeat by Jordan

When Jurgen Klinsmann was appointed as head coach of South Korea in February 2023, he asked fans and media to judge him on the Asian Cup and pledged to bring the trophy back to Seoul for the first time in 64 years.

A year on and it is time for the German to be judged - but the verdict may not be to his liking, after South Korea lost 2-0 to Jordan in Tuesday's semi-final.

The Middle Easterners, ranked 64 places below South Korea at 87th in the world, had never beaten the Taeguk Warriors before and were in their first major semi-final - but proved superior in every aspect.

The star-studded South Korea team had arrived with high hopes of ending their long wait for a third continental title.

Tottenham forward Son Heung-min and Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan have both scored at least 10 Premier League goals this season, while Paris St-Germain's Lee Kang-in is regarded as one of Asia's most creative and skilful players.

Despite their attacking firepower, they did not have a single shot on target against an unheralded but dominant Jordan side.

After the match, Klinsmann was asked if he was going to resign.

"I am not planning to do anything," he replied. "I plan to analyse this tournament, go back to Korea and obviously talk with the federation about what was good and what was not so good in the tournament."