Korea drew with El Salvador 1-1 in a friendly match in Daejeon on Tuesday.
Korea took the lead after a goal from Hwang Ui-jo but allowed an equalizer late in the second half.
Korea has gone winless in four friendly matches since new national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann took the helm in February this year, with two draws and two losses. In the first two friendlies in March, it drew 2-2 with Colombia and lost to Uruguay 2-1. In the third friendly on June 16, it lost to Peru 1-0.
Hwang Ui-jo reacts after scoring a goal in a friendly against El Salvador in Daejeon on Tuesday. /Yonhap
Korea dominated the match, leading El Salvador — which lost to Japan 6-0 on June 15 — in ball possession with 73 percent but lacked finishing power. Of its 14 goal attempts, only four were on target. Korea failed to add another goal, conceding the equalizer as the players lost concentration in the last minute of the match.
Having failed to beat El Salvador, which is considered a weaker team, Korea will now have to wait until September to seek its first win under Klinsmann, when it is due to play two friendlies in Europe. It will face Wales on Sept. 7, and its second opponent has not been decided yet.
Korean footballers react after drawing 1-1 against El Salvador in a friendly in Daejeon on Tuesday. /News1
Son Heung-min, who recently underwent surgery for a sports hernia, started the match on the bench. He came off the bench in the 69th minute but was not impressive.
After the match, Klinsmann said the result was disappointing.
“A bit disappointed, because obviously we wanted to beat El Salvador and we wanted to score more goals,” he said. “If you don’t score the goals right now, then you have to work even harder and believe in yourself… There’s nothing you can do besides working, working, working.”
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