AFC Asian Cup: South Korea to Go Scorched Earth on Malaysia as They Eye Top Berth

Korea Republic vs Malaysia

South Korea can confirm their place in the AFC Asian Cup Round of 16 when they face Malaysia on Thursday at the Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar.

With one win and one draw, the Taeguk Warriors are level with Jordan in Group E with four points, but they’re currently in second place due to an inferior goal difference.

So, should they win on Thursday and Jordan lose or draw to Bahrain, Jurgen Klinsmann’s men will get to reclaim the top spot, which means that they’ll have a seemingly easier path towards winning the continental trophy.

As for Malaysia, since they’re the group’s cellar dwellers, their aim is to salvage some pride as they’ll formally exit the tournament in just a matter of time.

Talking Points

Klinsmann might rotate his South Korea squad

With the upcoming group stage game against Malaysia seemingly a foregone conclusion, South Korea can have one eye looking ahead in the knockout rounds.

And with the team nursing some injuries, Jurgen Klinsmann can ill-afford to have more, so we wouldn’t be surprised if he tinkers with his starting XI.

With first-choice goalie Kim Seung-Gyu declared out of the AFC Asian Cup after he tore his ACL during practice ahead of their match with Jordan, Jo Hyeon-Woo is now their man between the sticks for the foreseeable future.

Wolves striker Hwang Hee-Chan was also absent against Jordan due to a hip injury, so Cho Gue-Sung started in his place to link up with Heung-Min Son, who scored a penalty kick against Jordan.

Celtic forward Oh Hyeon-Gyu is also a candidate to start up front, especially if Klinsmann considers sitting Son. Meanwhile, Park Jin-Seop and Hong Hyun-Seok can replace Park Yong-Woo or Hwang In-Beom in midfield.

In AFC Asian Cup 2024 news, Kim Young-Gwon is going to make his 106^th appearance with the Taeguk Warriors, only one game fewer than Park Sung-Hwa for 10^th in the all-time caps list, while Kim Jin-Su might make his 70^th appearance on Thursday.

Malaysia’s porous defence

Malaysia came into this tournament with hope after going undefeated in three competitive games (4-3 win against Kyrgyzstan, 1-0 win against Chinese Taipei, and a 2-2 draw against Syria), but they’re now down and out because their defence has let them down.

Kim Pan-Gon’s men surrendered four goals in the opener against Jordan, and although they were a lot better defencively against Bahrain, they still came out empty-handed after conceding in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

In those two games, goalkeeper Syihan Hazmi and co. have faced 27 total shots, with 11 of them on target, and it’s only going to get worse before it gets better for them.

At least they have the World Cup 2026 qualifiers, where they are currently on top of Second Round Group D after winning their first two matches. In our opinion, Malaysia have to turn their full focus on that instead.

History

Malaysia have a bone to pick with South Korea since they haven’t beaten them since a 1-0 World Cup qualifier victory in March 1985. This was also the last time that Harimau Malaya scored against the Taeguk Warriors.

And in the AFC Asian Cup, Malaysia have not won a single fixture since a 2-0 win over the UAE in 1980. They also haven’t found the back of the net in five AFC Asian Cup group stage games this century.

If Jordan beat Bahrain and if South Korea somehow lose or draw against Malaysia, it would be the first time that the Taeguk Warriors have failed to win their group since 2011.

South Korea are on a 10-game undefeated run in all competitions under Jurgen Klinsmann since their 1-0 international friendly loss against Peru, and they have yet to lose an AFC Asian Cup group stage match since losing 2-1 to Bahrain in 2007.

Betting Tip

South Korea are the heavy favourites to win this fixture, as the AFC Asian Cup 2024 odds have them priced at 1.09. Malaysia, on the other hand, are massive 13.00 underdogs, and a draw is at 7.00 in the 1X2 market.

My SBOTOP colleague, Keith,  nailed his previous bet of Over 3.00 at 2.09 in South Korea’s clash against Jordan, and we’re confident that something similar will happen again this week, hence our recommendation of going for Over 3.50 at 2.00.

Continuing the theme of this being a high-scoring affair, you can also check out Total Goals 4-6 at 2.26 and Asian Handicap -2.75 at 2.25 in favour of South Korea.

 

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