There was a big surprise in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup. South Korea, coached by Jürgen Klinsmann, lost 2-0 to Jordan.

Former German national football coach Jürgen Klinsmann has surprisingly lost with South Korea in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup. The World Cup round of 16 team deservedly lost 2-0 (0-0) to outsiders Jordan on Tuesday after a weak performance at the final round in Qatar. This means that South Korea must continue to wait for its third continental championship title. Jordan, on the other hand, is in the final of the Asian Cup for the first time and will face either hosts Qatar or Iran, who will face each other in the second semi-final on Wednesday, on Saturday.

Yazan Al-Naimat (53rd minute) and Musa Suleiman (66th minute) scored for Jordan in Al-Rayyan. The South Koreans, who only just managed to get past Saudi Arabia in the round of 16 on penalties and then needed extra time to beat Australia in the quarter-finals, were sorely missing defender Minjae Kim of Bayern Munich, who was suspended for the game. But there was also little cohesion in the attack around superstar Heung-Min Son.

This means that Klinsmann is likely to continue to have a difficult time in South Korea. Even before the tournament, the 1990 World Cup winner had been criticized after failing to win any of his first five matches with the Taegeuk Warriors. The fact that he spends more time abroad than in South Korea was also not well received, similar to his time as Germany coach.

The record at the Asian Cup was also modest. South Korea only won one of five games in regular time. Late goals in particular saved the team from an earlier elimination. There was no late comeback against Jordan.