AFC (Asian Football Confederation) told the story of Korea ahead of the 2023 AFC Qatar Asian Cup draw.
AFC said, “Korea won the championship in 1956 and 1960. Now we are aiming for the third Asian Cup championship. We have been given a mission to end the long wait.” “The 2019 AFC UAE Asian Cup journey ended in the quarterfinals. At the Asian Cup in Qatar, the key players have entered their prime, so we will aim to achieve better results,” he explained Korea.
Korea had no special relationship with the Asian Cup. There was a time when he challenged to the top as a luxurious member, but he tasted frustration in each tournament.
Just looking at the recent record leaves me with regret. In the 2011 AFC Qatar Asian Cup, where Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo were together, they collapsed in a penalty shootout to Japan in the semifinals, and in the 2015 AFC Australia Asian Cup, led by Son Heung-min, they lost to Australia in the final. And in the 2019 AFC UAE Asian Cup with coach Paulo Bento, it collapsed to Qatar in the quarterfinals. The unfortunate thing is that Japan, Australia and Qatar, who beat Korea in the last three Asian Cups, all reached the top.
So this time, Korea is dreaming of becoming a champion. Jurgen Klinsmann, coach of the Korean national team, also made it clear that his first goal was to become ‘top of Asia’. As AFC points out, the overall skills of the members are clearly on track.
Each position is full of treasures, such as Kim Min-jae, who has grown into a ‘big fish’ with Son Heung-min as the ‘core’, and Lee Kang-in, who is becoming a ‘jewel’. In addition, the growth and performance of other members are also outstanding, so if you can pull out your organizational skills well, as in the 2022 FIFA (International Football Federation) Qatar World Cup, you are likely to reach your goal.토토사이트
The Asian Cup group draw will be held at the Opera House in Doha, Qatar at 8:00 pm on the 11th (hereinafter Korean time). South Korea was in Pot 1 along with Asian powerhouses such as Qatar, Japan, Iran, Australia and Saudi Arabia. That means you won’t run into them, at least in the group stage.
However, it should be noted that there are many difficult opponents in pots 2 and 3 due to the recent growth of Asian football. The Asian Cup is becoming a more demanding stage day by day. In fact, in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Korea, Japan, and Australia advanced to the round of 16, leaving a significant result in which three countries belonging to the AFC advanced to the tournament for the first time ever. If you rise to a high level in the Asian Cup tournament, it means that a level comparable to that of the World Cup will be realized.
The Asian Cup finals are scheduled for January next year.