Shocking Son Heung-min’s Heat Map…Son Heungmin needs to adjust his position

Son Heung-min is burdened with a lot of pressure not only in attack but also in defense. If you look far away from the tournament, it seems necessary to adjust Son Heung-min’s position clearly.

The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, drew 2-2 against Jordan in the second Group E match of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup at Altumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar on the 20th (Korea time). 토토사이트 추천

The mood was upbeat. In the early hours, Son tripped over the opponent in the box, and a penalty kick was declared after VAR. Korea took the lead as Son scored the first goal with a penalty kick.

Korea, however, gradually gave up the lead due to Jordan’s offensive despite its advantageous position, and Park Yong-woo’s own goal from a corner kick in the 37th minute allowed the equalizer. Then, in the extra time of the first half, Yazan al-Naimat scored an upset goal to hand over the lead.

South Korea tapped Jordan’s goal throughout the second half, but the Jordanian goal did not open easily. Fortunately, Hwang In-beom’s shot deflected off the defense and went into the net during extra time in the second half, balancing the match. South Korea, which barely ended the match with a draw, maintained its second place in the group with one win, one draw and four points.

It was a game where I could feel the need for a clear improvement in performance. In terms of power, there was nothing that Jordan lacked. Rather, South Korea, which has European players such as Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, and Kim Min-jae, was considered to have a far superiority in the weight class difference. However, overshadowing this analysis or prediction, South Korea collapsed helplessly in the face of Jordan’s attack.

In particular, the team was swayed by Jordan’s attack with “Jordan Salah” Moussa al-Tamari at the forefront. Jordan actively targeted the left side defense of South Korea, which already showed weaknesses in the first match. Without Lee Jae-sung’s defense support and Kim Min-jae’s cover, Lee Ki-je alone could not prevent Al-Tamari.

Son even needed his joining in defense. If you look at his heat map after the game, you can see that he played mostly on the left side and the front, but he spent a lot of time in defense as well.

In fact, Son Heung-min was not free from joining the defense against Jordan. Son Heung-min, who should be the axis of attack, was forced to go down to support the defense as Korea continued to falter. On this day, Son Heung-min recorded as many as nine recoveries of bringing the ball back when the opponent did not own it. It can be said that the defensive success rate was good, but it is a record that Son Heung-min often participated in the defense.

While it is natural for anyone to join the defense line when the team is losing ground, Son needs to adjust his position and role if the Clinsman team, which is aiming to win the title, sees it further from afar. Son certainly shines more in offense than in defense. Most of the time, Korea’s offensive developments are made through Son.

It is hard to imagine Son not playing in a tournament. If Son goes down to the defensive area rather than the offensive area as he did against Jordan and participates in defense more often, his physical strength is highly likely to be depleted. In order to make more efficient use of Son, who is the key player of the national team, Coach Klinsmann must prepare tactically and clearly against the opponent, or coordinate his position and role in various situations.