South Korea coachUli Stielike said that the 2-1 win over Uzbekistan was a completely deserved victory for his team.
The late winner helps South Korea maintains a strong position in the World Cup 2018 qualification group. This was the fifth match of the Asian round of qualification.
South Korea coachUli Stielike said that the 2-1 win over Uzbekistan was a completely deserved victory for his team.
The late winner helps South Korea maintains a strong position in the World Cup 2018 qualification group. This was the fifth match of the Asian round of qualification.
The result could have been completely different, as South Korea were trailing 1-0 even in the first half. However, they managed quite a spectacular comeback in the second half with goals from Nam Tae-hee and Koo Ja-cheol. Buoyed on by the home support at the Seoul World Cup stadium, the national team are able to collect these important three points.
It also helped them finished the 2016 calendar year on a strong note. Since the appointment ofStielike in September 2014, the national team has been making consistent improvements in several areas of the pitch. They have just ended the year with a record of eight victories, one stalemate, and two defeats.
After the game, the German manager claimed that he was always aware that Uzbekistan would be giving a tough time for his team’s attack, as they had been quite excellent in defending. Uzbekistan had allowed just one goal in the qualification games prior to the match against South Korea.
Korea’s next match is against China in March. “I knew today’s match was not going to be easy because Uzbekistan had allowed only one goal (in the final qualifying round) before this match. We had a difficult game because we conceded the first goal, but I’m satisfied that we overturned the result. Our players didn’t lose their cool and showed their usual plays to produce a deserving victory. We outran the opponents and had high ball possession. Although we lacked delicate plays near the box, overall, I’m satisfied,” said the South Korea manager.