Day 9 of the Asian Cup had two games where one team dominated the ball but not necessarily the game. South Korea had to fight for a late 2-2 draw with Jordan while Bahrain beat Malaysia 1-0 in the dying minutes in the aftermath of a corner.
Jordan 2-2 South Korea
Jordan were probably the better team in the first half, both on and off the ball. South Korea were not looking good, being outplayed, and couldn’t get into a flow due to manager Klinsmann’s tactics. An early Son Heung-min penalty put them ahead but Jordan were much the better side after that, equalizing through a Park Yong-woo own goal and a going ahead just before halftime via Yazan Al-Naimat. I also have to state that Kim Seung-gyu, Korea’s starting goalkeeper, was out injured after hurting a ligament in training.
South Korea came out in the second half a different and better team, although they could not finish their chances and only equalized at the very end through a Jordanian own goal/deflection.
The Koreans were aggressive in their passing at times, not wanting to waste time building up from deep but instead trying to get near and into the box quickly and often. They were pretty successful at times, but final balls and crosses kept getting cut out. Having Lee Kang-in be the focal creator at times made South Korea predictable and Jordan were able to defend well for long stretches of the second half.
We can see how many tackles Jordan had on the flanks and clearances they had in the box from Korean crosses. They were very good at stopping a number of South Korea’s attacks.
However, Jordan didn’t keep the ball for very long after winning it. They aimed to hit South Korea on the counter although particularly in the second half their main aim was to defend and stifle South Korea’s possessions.
And we can see that Jordan were able to do that fairly often. South Korea were often held to deep possession, shown in their passing flows. When they had possession higher up the pitch, it was often on the flanks, where they were able to find space, but where they were pushed by Jordan’s defending.
Jordan, on the other hand, naturally didn’t have many possession flows, and many they did have came from the main areas they recovered the ball from South Korea.
Despite South Korea being pushed onto the flanks often, they were able to craft some great chances from more central areas and half-spaces. Hwang In-beom and Lee Kang-in were the main threatening passers here, with Son Heung-min and Lee Jae-sung helping out as well.
Jordan, on the other hand, had little xT from passes. They also had most of their xT originating from deep, showing the length of their passes.
The teams’ passing sonars also show that story well too. Jordan had many long and vertical passes, whereas South Kore were more fluid in possession and had shorter and more lateral passes. Hwang In-beom’s passing sonars are interesting for a midfielder in a team dominating the ball, as he had a lot of vertical and diagonal passes, showing his importance to their possession movements.
In-beom, in fact, had the the most passes in the match. Son Heung-min was his main receiver, with 18 of 84 completions.
Striker Cho Gur-sung didn’t have the best game, found it difficult to get into the game, and was taken off after 70 minutes,
Overall, Jordan can be very happy with their performance, getting a draw against South Korea is a big step to qualifying, potentially in the top spot too! South Korea, despite some injuries, hopefully learned a few lessons as they aim to win the tournament and will need some hard lessons along the way. Klinsmann didn’t impress today, and it could make their path to the final very difficult, as their potential side of the bracket is shaping up to be clogged with strong teams.
Bahrain 1-0 Malaysia
Malaysia impressed with their sturdy defense and ability to continuously repel Bahraini attacks as well as deter shots. They will definitely feel hard done by to not earn a point today, conceding with almost the last kick of the game, a shot after a half-cleared corner coming through loads of traffic. Goalkeeper Ahmad Hazmi would have seen it very late and just about got a fingertip on it but Ali Madan got his side a very important 3 points.
We can see that Malaysia had a couple bursts of attacking dominance mainly in the first half, but mainly focused on defending. And for so long, they were successful. They should be very proud of their performance, and it’s sad that they couldn’t keep the draw and earn a well-deserved point.
Bahrain’s main passing flows illustrate not just their flows, but Malaysia’s defensive ability in the match as well. It was very difficult for Bahrain to consistently enter central areas in the final third, and they were forced wide.
Bahrain’s longest passing chains illustrate these patterns quite well. Lots of lateral passes in midfield, even if they were in Malaysia’s half. They could break into central areas near the box at times, but many times they were either pushed out wide or their next pass was cut out. A number of Bahraini possessions ended with more direct passes trying to go over the Malaysian defense as it was difficult to play through them.
Malaysia’s defensive actions further show that possession-ending hole in front of the box for Bahrain. There’s a large concentration of ball recoveries and tackles in front of Malaysia’s box. They also had a lot of clearances, showing how often they not only sent Bahrain wide and forced crosses, but were able to cut those crosses out too.
Given what we’ve seen so far, I don’t think Malaysia’s main passing flows will come as a surprise to anyone.
Malaysia were direct when they won the ball, not just looking to get the ball away from their box, but looking to set loose some of their dangerous attackers like wingers Arif Aiman and Faisal Halim.
Bahrain’s main passing threat thus came from the flanks, particularly their right flank, and mainly right back Mohamed Adel.
Malaysia, on the other hand, had much less xT overall but generated xT from anywhere on the pitch. Give they mainly played in quick bursts of possession, they didn’t have any main patterns or focal points, with dangerous opportunities coming as they came. Sahrul Saad and Faisal Halim recorded their highest xT, but both had less than 0.10.
Below are some key players for each team.
Overall, Malaysia will feel hard done by that they couldn’t hold out that little bit longer. And really, the goal was almost random and maybe not “poor defense”, as it was just a shot in the mixer after a corner and the goalkeeper saw it late through traffic.
One of Malaysia’s great analysts puts it poignantly:
Bahrain had lots of possession, but Malaysia’s defense was so good for so long. On another day, they come away with a draw and more life in a group where anyone can still qualify (technically, as Malaysia could theoretically get one of the third place spots even if it’s very unlikely).
Article by Ben Griffis
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