South Korea continue their AFC Asian Cup campaign on Saturday when they face Jordan at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha. The Jordanians thumped Malaysia 4-1 in their opener to top Group E for now but the Koreans saw off Bahrain 3-1 and also have three points. Hussein Ammouta’s men were destroyed 6-1 just before the tournament and are notoriously tight defensively at this level and they went all the way to the quarterfinals last time Qatar hosted an edition back in 2011. Opposite number Jurgen Klinsmann enjoyed his Asian Cup debut with a win but he will want to see more than. Individual brilliance this time after it took a while to get going against Bahrain. Conceding ended a six-match run for the Taegeuk Warriors without conceding in the group stage of this tournament but Klinsmann’s side has gone unbeaten in nine straight games across all competitions with seven wins.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Saturday, Jan. 20 | Time: 6:30 a.m. ET
- Location: Al Thumama Stadium — Doha, Qatar
- Watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network
- Odds: Jordan +1000; Draw: +400; South Korea -450
Team news
Jordan: Anas Bani Yaseen could come in for the injured Abdallah Nasib and Mahmoud Al-Mardi also took a knock. Yazan Al-Arab debuted at this level alongside Salem Al-Ajalin and Nasib in defense but Yazid Abu Laila only made three saves. Al-Mardi and Musa Al-Taamari each got two and the Montpellier HSC man is now tied in seventh with Odai Al-Saify and Baha Faisal for all-time goals (15).
Potential Jordan XI: Layla; Yaseen, Al-Arab, Al-Ajalin; Shelbaieh, Ayed, Al-Rawabdeh, Sadeh; Al-Taamari, Olwan; Al-Naimat.
South Korea: Hwang Hee-chan missed the opener while Hwang In-beom made his 51st appearance and Lee Jae-sung is closing on 80 while skipper Son Heung-min has 118 — four away from Yoo Sang-chul sixth-placed all-time number. In-beom and Lee Kang-in (two) secured the win against Bahrain but it will need to be more convincing this time around.
Potential South Korea XI: Seung-gyu; Young-woo, Jin-su, Ki-je; Kang-in, Woo-yeong, In-beom, Jae-sung; Heung-min, Gue-sung, Hyeon-gyu.
Prediction
Expect this to be tight in places but for the Koreans to ultimately run out winners. It might take a while to break Jordan down byt they should have enough to secure victory. Pick: Jordan 1, South Korea 2.