S. Korea coach Klinsmann calls Asian Cup group ‘doable’

South Korea head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said Thursday his team ended up in “a doable group” at the top Asian men’s football tournament scheduled for next year.

Klinsmann attended the draw for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Doha on Thursday, with Qatar set to host the competition starting in January 2024.

South Korea, ranked 27th in the world, will be in Group E against Jordan (No. 84), Bahrain (No. 85) and Malaysia (No. 138).

“I think we have a good group. They’re all very, very good teams,” Klinsmann said in a video clip released by the Korea Football Association (KFA). “I think it’s a doable group. We expect ourselves to go through to the knockout stage and go all the way to the end of the tournament. It’s a good draw for us.”

Malaysia have a South Korean coach, Kim Pan-gon, and Klinsmann said Kim’s presence will make the two countries’ Asian Cup showdown “very special.” Klinsmann also said he doesn’t yet know much about Malaysia and added, “We have to see how strong they are.”

Against Malaysia, South Korea have posted 26 wins, 12 draws and eight losses. They haven’t played each other since June 1989.

South Korea have an undefeated record of three wins and two draws against Jordan. They have 11 wins, four draws and one loss against Bahrain.

Klinsmann reiterated his oft-stated goal of winning the Asian Cup. South Korea have not lifted the continental trophy since 1960.

The German-born coach acknowledged challenges ahead, noting Asian teams’ strong performances at last year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Saudi Arabia upset the eventual champions Argentina in the group stage, and Japan slashed two European giants, Germany and Spain, en route to reaching the last 16. Australia also notched two wins in the group phase to make it to the knockout stage.

“It will not be easy, but we have a very strong team,” Klinsmann said of South Korea, who beat Portugal in their final group match at the World Cup to grab a knockout ticket under Klinsmann’s predecessor, Paulo Bento. “Our goal is to win this Asian Cup.”

Klinsmann said, ideally, South Korea will avoid “a big rival like Japan” in the round of 16, though the Taegeuk Warriors will have to contend with one of the Asian powers at some point in the knockout stage. Klinsmann added the immediate goal is to advance to the round of 16 as the top seed in Group E, so that they will not have to contend with a winner from another group.

The Group E winner will face the Group D runner-up. Japan are in Group D along with Indonesia, Iraq and Vietnam.

The Group E runner-up will be up against the Group F winner, likely Saudi Arabia, who will face Thailand, Kyrgyzstan and Oman.

The 24 teams in the tournament have been divided into six groups of four. The top two teams from each group, plus four-best third-place teams, will move on to the last 16.

Klinsmann said he hopes to play some tuneup matches in the buildup to the Asian Cup.

“Hopefully, we can have one or two games here in Qatar or the Middle East region right before the tournament starts,” he said. “And we maybe have an opportunity to play two or three games in December with a group of players coming in from the K League.”