Jurgen Klinsmann's Role Behind South Korea's Victory Over Saudi Arabia

Jo air-woo became South Korean heroes during a penalty shootout against Saudi Arabia (doc. AFC).

JAKARTA - The last 16 of the 2023 Asian Cup between South Korea vs Saudi Arabia is the hottest and most anticipated match. Not only presenting the duel of star players, the meeting of the two top world coaches is in the spotlight.

Jurgen Klinsmann stands behind the wheel of Taegeuk Warriors, while Saudi Arabia is carpentry by Roberto Mancini.

The match was balanced. Saudi Arabia took the lead through Abdullah Radif in the 46th minute.

South Korea appeared to never give up. They were only able to equalize in the second half injury time.

Cho Gue-sung became Taegeuk Warriors' savior after scoring in the 90+6 minute.

The match continued until the penalty shootout because there were no goals created in two extra rounds.

The role of Klinsmann as a poor coach across Europe is increasingly visible. After being able to motivate the team not to give up when they are left behind, he was also able to build confidence in players in the tos-tosan shootout round.

Jo air-woo, South Korean goalkeeper and hero in the penalty shootout, revealed how Klinsmann became the actor behind the team's victory.

Jo is not actually the main goalkeeper. He took over Kim Seung-gyu's duties who was injured in the second match of the group phase.

However, Jo appeared to be a differentiator and thwarted two Saudi Arabian executors, Sami Al Naji and Abdulrahman Ghareeb. The action brought victory for South Korea 4-2 on penalties while securing tickets to the 2023 Asian Cup quarter-finals.

"It all came from belief. The coach gave us confidence. He came to us and told us to believe in ourselves before we started the game and it paid off," Jo said on the AFC page. "When I got on penalties, I had the confidence to make a save to help the team. I'm glad we made it to the next round."

"Convenience comes from training. We invested a lot of time in penalty training, saves. My appearance during the penalty shootout all came from a boost given by our coach." He said, 'Believe yourself. Whatever decision you make confidently.' That's what I do. If we go back on penalties in the next game, the same thing will happen," said goalkeeper Ulsan HD who was named the Player of the Match.

Meanwhile, South Korea will face Australia in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Asian Cup. Jo has ambitions to score his first clean sheet in the tournament.

"The current priority is to raise your head, work hard, and try to achieve the goal of reaching the next round. As goalkeepers, you always try not to concede, keeping a clean sheet is a priority." "However, for me and the team, the emphasis, as conveyed in the dressing room and shared with us, is to forget the past and maintain the mentality of looking forward," said Jo again.

The South Korean vs Australia match will take place at the Al Janoub Stadium on February 2, 2024.