Alkass Digital
Jurgen Klinsmann wants to take Korea Republic all the way in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023™ but will take it game by game, starting with Monday’s clash against Bahrain.
The 1990 FIFA World Cup winner, who had previously steered Germany to third place in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and guided the United States to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, is now looking to make his mark on the Asian stage.
“We’re very excited to be here in Qatar to play in a very special Asian Cup,” said Klinsmann. “Game number one is very important, we want to start well in the tournament .
“Every game will be a nail-biter. Every team here is strong and we will not underestimate any opponent and think about the future.
“We are only thinking about the next game which is Bahrain. This is our message to the team, to be only focused on the next step. We expect a difficult game but we want to do well and we want to stay here until the very end.”
It’s a star-studded squad that Klinsmann has brought to Qatar 2023 with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min, Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Hwang Hee-chan and Bayern Munich’s Kim Min-jae headlining the cast.
“I feel very honoured and privileged to coach this Korean national team. In the last 10 months, I’ve learnt a lot of things. We have a very strong team and I would love to be in the final.
“I want it because I feel this team has the quality to win this tournament but it’ll probably be a long and dramatic road to reach there, just like we saw here during the World Cup.”
Juan Antonio Pizzi will handle a team for a second successive AFC Asian Cup after being at the helm of Saudi Arabia in 2019, and the Bahrain head coach is under no illusion about the massive task that awaits them.
“Of course we are very optimistic, we know that we have three tough matches ahead of us,” said Pizzi. “Korea have great players but we’ll try to mitigate them and hopefully we’ll get a good result.
“We have the same optimism and the same ambitions and we want to take it step by step to realise our ambition. Right now our objective is to qualify for the Round of 16.
“Goals are always scored as a result of good performance. We have individual skills, we have a strong midfield and we will try to use our link up play to good effect.”
The 55-year-old Spaniard is pleased with how preparations have gone as he enters the second half of his first year with the Bahrain national team, but warned his charges that nothing short of full commitment will suffice against Korea Republic.
“Our preparation period has been quite short but thankfully, the players have been implementing my instructions and ideas well. We know that we need to give more but we will stay the course and focus on the objective we set when I took over.
“We know they have elite players. In order for us to be able to compete, we need every player to give 100%. We cannot rely on one or two players, we need all 11 to deliver a great performance.”
Korea Republic v Bahrain
Kick-off: 14:30 (UTC+3)
Venue: Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium (Doha)