Following Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae bowed his head. Kim Min-jae, who failed to win the Asian Cup and returned to his team, apologized to fans.
Kim Min-jae apologized for not winning the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup, saying on his social networking service (SNS) account on the 9th, "I'm sorry and grateful to the players, the coaching staff, and the fans who always supported us during the long tournament. We didn't get the results that everyone wanted. I'm sorry that we couldn't show you as good as the fans supported us."
Kim Min-jae then said, "As a player who plays for the national team, I feel a great responsibility and I feel like I have to improve the more I play for the national team. I will try to produce as many results as you support me. Thank you for your support during the tournament." He also feels a great responsibility and thanked his fans for supporting him during the Asian Cup.
Earlier, Son Heung-min apologized through SNS, and Kim Min-jae bowed his head to the fans. Son Heung-min said, "As we played the Asian Cup, which many people had been looking forward to, we were too late to say thank you because we were all focused on the game." Son Heung-min said, "I felt heavy and sad to come back to London after the game, but I arrived safely. I think I wasn't good enough as captain and I didn't lead the team well," adding, "I was so proud to be a Korean soccer player because you showed so much love and support despite this situation. Thank you and I'm sorry."
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, lost 0-2 in the semi-final of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup against Jordan at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Alayan, Qatar on the 7th.
It was a shocking loss. Korea is ranked 23rd in the FIFA rankings, while Jordan is ranked 87th. Korea kneeled down after a gruesome match against a team that is 64 notches above the FIFA rankings. After finishing the first half with 0-0, Korea allowed Yazan Alnaimat to score the first goal in the eighth minute of the second half, and presented an additional goal to Jordan's ace Moussa Altamari in the 21st minute of the second half. The Klinsmann who was aiming for the championship ended the Asian Cup schedule with 0-2 complete defeat.
Klinsmann's performance in the match against Jordan was the worst that Korea had ever played in this tournament. Korea had no offensive development at all, and its high defense line became a good prey for the opponent. The defense without Kim Min-jae collapsed like a fall leaf. There was no defense cover for the third line at all, and there was no player who could block the large back space because Kim Min-jae was out.
In particular, it was noticeable that there was no attempt at a single effective shot. Despite the fact that South Korea has the highest level of offense among the Asian Cup participating teams, including Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in and Hwang Hee-chan, it failed to record any effective shots against Jordan.
In defense, Kim Min-jae's absence was felt significantly. Kim Min-jae, who received the first yellow card of the tournament against Bahrain in the first round of the group qualifying round, received the second warning against Australia in the last quarterfinal, and was unable to play in the match against Jordan due to accumulated warnings. Instead, Kim Min-jae sat in the stands and watched the game.
The team failed to resolve its 64-year wait to win the Asian Cup. This time, the Korean team is called the "golden generation," and was expected to resolve Korea's disappointment that it had not won the Asian Cup for 64 years since 1960. However, the Korean team, which was shaken from the group stage, showed its problems even after entering the tournament, and was eventually eliminated in the semifinals.
Kim Min-jae started every game except the match against Jordan in the semifinals and took charge of his team's defense. He covered the team's defense space based on his strengths, high speed and one-on-one defense capabilities, and blocked opponents by banking on his outstanding ability to compete. Without Kim Min-jae, chances are high that there would have been more critical scenes or situations that could have led to losing points.
However, Kim failed to prevent Korea from being eliminated from the Asian Cup. What's more, Kim returned to his team Bayern Munich after finishing the tournament lonesomely without participating in Korea's last Asian Cup match. According to the Korea Football Association, all European players except Hwang In-beom returned to their teams there. Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, Hwang Hee-chan, and Lee Jae-sung, as well as Kim Min-jae immediately boarded the plane to Munich.
Munich announced Kim's return through its official website and social networking service (SNS) on Wednesday. "Kim Min-jae is back in Munich. Welcome back. Kim Min-jae, who was participating in the Asian Cup with the Korean national soccer team, returned to Munich on Wednesday afternoon. After returning to Munich, Kim finished his private training session at the club's training center," he said.
Kim Min-jae's video was uploaded on Munich SNS. In the video, Kim Min-jae was riding a cycle and talked with an employee who filmed the video. A Munich official said, "Welcome back, Kim Min-jae. I'm glad to meet you." Kim Min-jae also smiled and said, "Right, I'm back. See you on Saturday." 스포츠토토
Given Kim Min-jae's remarks to see him on Saturday, Kim Min-jae is expected to be available for the weekend's match against Leverkusen.
Bild, a leading German magazine, said, "Korea's elimination from the Asian Cup is bad news for Kim Min-jae, but good news for Munich. Kim will be able to play in Germany's Bundesliga match against Leverkusen over the weekend. After resting in the Asian Cup semifinals due to accumulated warnings, Kim can return in time for the league match against Leverkusen."
