El Salvador scraped a draw (1-1) against South Korea today thanks to a last-gasp header by Alexander Roldán on one of the few occasions that the Central Americans have come up with, who will come with plenty of doubt on their Gold Cup debut in six days’ time.
From the first bars it is clear Hugo Pérez, who lined up 4-5-1 with only Brayan Gil leading the wayHe wants to pass the baton to the Asians and for his team to wait to take advantage of a transfer or an oversight.
This is how the Salvadoran’s best chances came in the first half; a shot missed by Orellana after a terrible pass from Seol in his own area and another from Christian Martínez deflected for a corner after a game that was poorly resolved by the South Koreans’ defense.
Jurgen Klinsmann’s Germans, who just lost 1-0 against Peru on Friday, They had no choice but to carry the brunt of the game, with Lee Kang-in once again very active and trying to establish himself as the leader.
Kang-in Lee, wrong
but so The one from Mallorca was unsuccessful, unsuccessfully looking for Romero’s door up to three times in the first section, like the rest of his teammates, who struggled to develop superiorities.
When they did, the Koreans failed in the details, jinking the last or penultimate passes on a grass where the rain left too quickly.
The first good domestic occasion was for Cho Gyu-song with a header that caressed Romero’s right-hand post, which the Asians managed to claim on several occasions before the break.
Korea is moving forward
The second period seemed to follow the same script, but after four minutes, Hwang Ui-jo, who Klinsmann provided an alternative for a meaningless today Lee Jae-sunghe mixed patience and precision to turn after controlling a delivery from Hwang Hee-chang and beat Romero for his short stick.
Seniority, which is in short supply among Koreans due to the absence of its captain Son Heung-min and in its starting centers, it became the key to open the Salvadoran bolt.
Pérez tried to add more assets to the attack by bringing on Mayer Gil for Menjívar and he had the first shot on goal for the Blue and White after 65 minutes of play
Enter the Son in the last stretch
But the dynamics of the game continued in the hands of the South Koreans, again unsuccessfully in the last meters, even entering with 20 minutes to spare their captain Anak, who is still blindfolded after his surgery to treat groin pain.
El Salvador avoids defeat
With the match seemingly decided and the Salvadorans barely getting 26% of the possession, a free kick from the far right by Jairo Henríquez, who had just jumped up the field, found Alexander Roldán, who was oriented the ball well, turning his neck to tie at 87.
This last-gasp goal helps El Salvador avoid closing its Asian tour without a goal after Thursday’s brutal thrashing against Japan (6-0), but it did not dispel doubts six days later of its Gold Cup debut against the winner from Martinique-Puerto Rico in Fort Lauderdale.
Klinsmann is winless in charge of South Korea
In this regard, the result left Klinsmann in a rather delicate situation, that of the four friendlies, all of them in South Korea, which he led barely added two draws. They debuted 2-2 against Colombia and then lost against Uruguay (1-2) and Peru (0-1).
Data sheets
South Korea: Kim Seung-gyu; Seol Yong-woo, Jung Seung-hyun, Park Ji-soo, Kim Jin-su (Park Kyu-hyun, d.58); Hwang In-beom, Park Yong-woo (Hong Hyun-seok, m.58), Lee Jae-sung (Hwang Ui-jo, m.46); Lee Kang-in, Hwang Hee-chan (Son Heung-min, d.69); and Cho Gue-sung (Oh Hyeon-gyu, d.69).
Coach: Jurgen Klinsmann.
El Salvador: Tomás Romero; Alexander Roldán, Eriq Zavaleta, Erick Cabalceta, Bryan Tamacas; Narciso Orellana (Bryan Landaverde, m.70), Christian Martínez (Jairo Henríquez, m.84); Leonardo Menjívar (Mayer Gil, m.58), Harold Osorio (Melvin Cartagena, m.78), Kevin Reyes (Joshua Pérez, m.75); and Brayan Gil (Cristian Gil, m.81).
Instructor: Hugo Pérez.
Goals: 1-0, m.49: Hwang Ui-jo. 1-1, m.87: Alexander Roldán.
Referee: Muhammad Bin Jahari (SGP). He advised Leonardo Menjívar (m.44), Jairo Henríquez (m.94) and Melvin Cartagena (m.95).
Incidents: Friendly match played at Daejeon World Cup Stadium played with a temperature of 23 degrees Celsius and 65% humidity.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
