2018 AFC U-19 Championship: South Korea inch closer to the knockouts with a comfortable victory over Jordan

Jung-Yong Chung made three changes to the Korean starting eleven that played against Australia, for their game against Jordan in the 2018 AFC U-19 Championship. Kim Hyun-Woo, Park Tae-Jun, and Choi Min-Soo made way for Um Won-Sang, Go Jae-Hyeon and Lee Gwang-Yeon.

Jamal Ahmad Abu Abed had made a single change from their previous encounter with Yousef Abualjazar coming in place of Omar Alzebdieh.

Group C: South Korea defeats Jordan 3-1

(KOR: Cho Young-Wook 3’, Jeon Se-Jin 79’, Choi Jun 92’; JOR: Omar Alzebdieh 77’)

South Korea, starting with a 4-4-2 formation, shifted to a 3-5-2 style with defender Choi Jun driving along the left wing enabling them with a share of 57% of the ball possession.

Jordan who started the game with a 3-4-1-2 tactic changed it to a 3-4-3 formation with striker Mohammad Bani Atieh shifting from the left flank to the right.

Jordan failed to clear their lines following a corner which allowed Lee Jae-Ik to kick the ball back into the center of the penalty area. Cho Young-Wook pounces at the opportunity with a right-footed strike to put the Red Devils ahead.

Number 12 Choi Jun of Korea in action (Image Courtesy: AFC)

Jordan’s Mohammad Aburiziq and Mohammad Alzubi struck from long range which hardly troubled the Korean custodian. Jordan goalie Abdallah Fakhoori came up with a double save, to deny Jeon's precise free-kick, followed by an effort from Go Jae-Hyeon.

The Jordanian side had their best opportunity at goal when a clinical pass from Yazan Abdelaal had Aburiziq in a one-on-one situation with Lee Gwang-Yeon, who pulled off an exceptional save to keep the lead intact.

Jordan's Yousef Abualjazar was handed a second yellow card in the 74th minute, for pulling down Choi Jun. The resultant free-kick found the back of the net through Jeon Se-Jin's header got disallowed for an offside call by the linesman.

Substitute Omar Al Zebdieh intercepted a poor back pass to get ahead of defender Kim Hyun-Woo and strike from an acute angle to pull one back for the Brave Gentlemen’s.

The Taegeuk Warriors caught the Jordan defence by surprise from a set-piece, when Goo Boon-Cheul found an unmarked Jeon Se-Jin who swirled around the keeper to score into the bottom right corner.

Jordanian number seven Omar Al Zebdieh scored from a tight angle (Image Courtesy: AFC)

Choi Jun got in front of his marker to score his side's third goal late in injury time after an accurate cross from Yim Jae-Hyeok’s got the better of Jordanian custodian Abdallah Al Fakhori.

Korea is likely to enter the knockout stages barring a surprise defeat at the hands of Vietnam in their last group game. Jordanian coach would love his wards to be more disciplined after picking three yellows and a red card in their match against the Koreans. They would be targeting a win against Australia to secure their birth in the quarter-finals.