As soccer draws go, this was as dramatic as it could get. South Korea managed a 1-1 tie against Lebanon in the countries’ World Cup qualifier in Beirut Tuesday, as Kim Chi-woo netted the equalizer on a free kick just moments from the whistle.
The score brought South Korea back from the brink of a stunning loss to a heavy underdog, but the last-gasp goal masked deeper problems.
South Korea entered the game ranked 42nd in the FIFA table, 87 spots ahead of Lebanon. On paper, the match should have been a cakewalk for South Korea. Yet it was the Lebanese who initiated the attack early on, and their efforts paid off with Hassan Maatouk’s goal in the 12th minute.
In the ensuing 80 minutes or so, South Korea’s maddening inability to convert close-range chances kept raising its ugly head.
The visitors were also sloppy with their passes, and it didn’t help the South Koreans that Abbas Hassan put on a goalkeeping clinic in the Lebanon net and almost single-handedly won the game for his country.
The draw doesn’t bode well for South Korea’s prospects in its final two qualifiers at home ― against Uzbekistan next Tuesday and Iran on June 18.
South Korean head coach Choi Kang-hee, who has juggled his offensive combination in recent matches, still hasn’t found one to his liking or one that actually works.
He started veteran Lee Dong-gook as the featured striker. Lee entered the game having scored 10 of his 30 international goals against Middle Eastern opponents, but failed to add to that tally after a largely uninspired game.
He blew a couple of close-range chances in the first half, and in a play that served as a microcosm of his day, Lee had a wide open opportunity just a minute from halftime but blasted the shot way over the crossbar.
He was all but invisible in the second half before hitting the goal post late in the match. The forward, much maligned for some lethargic play of late, did little to change the perception that he has lost more than a few steps at age 34.
For the second straight qualifier, Choi kept Son Heung-min, the leading scorer for Hamburger SV in Germany’s Bundesliga this past season, on the bench to start the game.
In South Korea’s previous qualifier in March, Son scored the last-second goal in the team’s 2-1 win over Qatar at home. He only played 10 minutes then.
This time, Son entered the match in the 70th minute, and though he failed to find the net, the 20-year-old was once again the sparkplug South Korea desperately needed.
Son has been arguably the best South Korean player in an overseas league this season, and yet Choi has refused to insert him into his starting lineup.
The South Korean coach has often said Son has to adjust to the national team system and explained that his style of play ― utilizing his speed to create his own chances ― doesn’t always work well against underdog Asian opponents who like to crowd their zone and outnumber opponent attackers.
Lee Chung-yong was the sharpest South Korean player for the second straight game. He zigzagged his way through the often-physical Lebanon defense, trying to set up chances from all over the field.
Yet Lee’s hard work was negated by his static teammates. Lee Dong-gook and Lee Keun-ho, who has also enjoyed success against Middle East teams, mostly stood around and waited for passes to come, rather than trying to free themselves from defenders.
Kim Nam-il, the veteran defensive midfielder, was also a disappointment in his first national team appearance in three years. (Yonhap News)
