DOHA: South Korea head coach Jurgen Klinsmann (pix) insists that nothing can stop his team from winning the title ahead of their 2023 Asian Cup quarter-final against Australia at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah tomorrow.
Klinsmann also does not expect the short break ahead of the clash, compared to Australia’s longer break, to be a problem.
The 59-year-old German said that since most of his players play in Europe, they are used to short rest periods between matches.
“Rest day is what it is, you accept it and move on. We are ready for this huge game and we are very hungry. We want to go through and, if you want to go through in a knockout phase of a big tournament, you have to suffer. You must be ready to suffer, you have to deal with pain and that’s normal.
“They (the South Korean players) play this way with their clubs. Many of them play in Europe every three or four days, so no problem,” he said with a big smile during the pre-match press conference here today.
The 1990 World Cup winner, with his winsome smile while listening to and answering questions from the media almost throughout the press conference, is one of the coaches to have stolen the spotlight this campaign.
Australia, who beat Indonesia 4-0 in the last 16 on Sunday (Jan 28), had four days to prepare for the quarter-finals while the Taegeuk Warriors had just two days to get ready after beating Saudi Arabia 4-2 on penalties on Tuesday (Jan 30).
Klinsmann, who helped Germany win the European Championship for the third time in 1996 as a player, expects his South Korean side to face another torrid time tomorrow.
“Australia are a very good team and have done well in the tournament. We have a lot of respect for them and I think it will be another nail-biter, like how every knockout game is. It will be 50-50 but we are ready.
“We’ve battled through 120 minutes against Saudi Arabia and we will do whatever it takes against Australia because we want to go further,” said Klinsmann, adding that his men are also ready for any eventualities, including a penalty shootout.
South Korean striker Cho Gue-sung echoed his coach’s optimism, saying although the Socceroos are good, he has every confidence in his teammates to get the job done.
“Australia have a very strong team, very solid in defence, very physical. They’re big and strong but we have our strengths and there is no pressure on us. We have a lot of qualities going forward, we have speed up front.
“For us, it’s more about how we play, how we utilise and maximise our strengths against a good Australian side. So, there’s no pressure and, hopefully, we can get the result that we want tomorrow,” said the 26-year-old, who plays for Danish club FC Midtjylland.
Tomorrow’s match will be the first meeting between the two teams at the Asian Cup since the Socceroos beat South Korea 2-1 in the final of the 2015 edition for their first title.
South Korea were champions in 1956 and 1960 and will be hoping to end their 64-year wait for title number three in Doha. -Bernama
