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The real test is coming. Director Jürgen Klinsmann meets the most experienced coach he has ever faced.

The Korean national football team, led by coach Jürgen Klinsmann, played in the 3rd match of Group E of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup, led by coach Kim Pang-gon, held at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar at 2:30 pm (local time) on the 25th. They drew 3-3 with Malaysia.

As a result, Korea advanced to the round of 16 in second place in the group and will face Saudi Arabia, first place in Group F. We will meet with Saudi Arabia at 1 am on the 31st.

Coach Klinsmann has already played against coach Robert Mancini's Saudi Arabia once. They met in a friendly match in September last year and won 1-0 thanks to Cho Gyu-seong's goal. It may have been a good memory for Coach Klinsmann as it was his first win since taking office.

However, looking at the content of the game, there were many shortcomings. Against Coach Mancini, who used a 4-3-3 formation at the time, Coach Klinsmann used a 4-4-2 formation. The problem occurred in midfield. Park Yong-woo played the role of protecting the defense in a sagging position, and Hwang In-beom played the role of distributing and spraying the ball in the midfield. However, Hwang In-beom often had to deal with three opposing midfielders alone. In the end, he lost the ball many times, which sometimes led to the risk of conceding a goal.

It was a friendly match, but even at the time, if you only look at the tactical battle, it was a complete loss. Even though Kim Min-jae and Jeong Seung-hyeon formed the defensive line, stability at the back was very poor, and they continued to struggle under Saudi pressure. Naturally, as the ball was taken away and the line dropped back, a lot of stamina was consumed.

The problem is that these shortcomings have not been compensated for at all to this day. In the last three group stage games, Coach Klinsmann was not effective in building up the rear, and the midfield was still often covered by Hwang In-beom alone.

It is highly likely that he will be on a different level from the coaches he has dealt with so far. Coach Mancini is a coach with a wealth of experience, starting as coach of Fiorentina in 2001 and then as coach of Lazio, Inter Milan, Manchester City, Galatasaray, Zenit, the Italian national team, and Saudi Arabia.

He lifted numerous championship trophies. He won the Coppa Italia with Fiorentina, and after taking charge of Inter Milan, he won six trophies, including three consecutive Serie A titles, the Coppa Italia, and the Supercoppa Italiana. Even after taking office at Manchester City, he achieved the Premier League (PL) title and the FA Cup. In Italy, he is also the main character in winning the UEFA Euro 2020.

In comparison, Coach Klinsmann does not have much experience. In 2006, he led Germany to a 3rd place finish in the World Cup, but he continued to fall thereafter. He was assessed as being tactically unsatisfactory in Bayern Munich and the U.S. national team. When he was in charge of Hertha Berlin, he took the somewhat incomprehensible step of announcing the news of his resignation through social media just three months after his appointment.

Ahead of the Korean game, Coach Mancini said, "I know it will be a very difficult game not only for us but also for them. It is not surprising if something happens. If we want to win the tournament, we have to fight against the top teams."

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