El Salvador scratched a draw (1-1) against South Korea today thanks to a header in the last breath of Alexander Roldán in one of the few occasions that the Central Americans generated, who will arrive with many doubts at their debut in the Gold Cup in six days.
From the first bars it was clear that Hugo Pérez, who lined up a 4-5-1 with only Brayan Gil in the leadHe wanted to hand over the baton to the Asians and for his team to wait in order to take advantage of a transition or an oversight.
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This is how the best Salvadoran opportunities arrived in the first half; a shot that Orellana missed after a terrible pass from Seol in his own area and another from Christian Martínez deflected to a corner after a play poorly resolved in defense by the South Koreans.
Those of the German Jurgen Klinsmann, who had just lost 1-0 against Peru on Friday, They had no choice but to carry the weight of the game, with Lee Kang-in again very active and trying to establish himself as the leader.
Kang-in Lee, wrong
but so The one from Mallorca was unsuccessful, who unsuccessfully searched for Romero’s door up to three times in the first section, like the rest of his teammates, who found it difficult to generate superiorities.
When they did, the Koreans failed in the details, jinking last or penultimate passes in a grass that the rain left very quickly.
The first great local occasion was for Cho Gyu-song with a header that caressed Romero’s right post, which the Asians managed to demand on a couple of occasions before the break.
Korea is moving forward
The second stage seemed to follow the same script, but after four minutes, Hwang Ui-jo, whom Klinsmann gave the alternative for an inconsequential today Lee Jae-sunghe mixed patience and precision to turn around after controlling a delivery from Hwang Hee-chang and beating Romero for his short stick.
Seniority, which has been in short supply among Koreans due to the absence of its captain Son Heung-min and of its starting centrals, it was key to open the Salvadoran bolt.
Pérez tried to add more assets in attack by bringing on Mayer Gil for Menjívar and his was the first shot on goal for Blue and White after 65 minutes of play
Enter Son in the final stretch
But the dynamics of the game continued in the hands of the South Koreans, again unsuccessful in the last meters, even with the entry with 20 minutes to go of their captain Son, who was still limping after his operation to treat groin pain.
El Salvador avoids defeat
With the match apparently decided and the Salvadorans having barely gained 26% of possession, a free kick from the far right taken by Jairo Henríquez, who had just jumped onto the field, found Alexander Roldán, who oriented the ball well, turning his neck to achieve the tie in 87.
This last-gasp goal helps El Salvador to avoid closing its Asian tour goalless after Thursday’s harsh correction against Japan (6-0), but it does not dispel doubts six days after its debut in the Gold Cup against the winner from Martinique-Puerto Rico in Fort Lauderdale.
Klinsmann winless in command of South Korea
In turn, the result leaves Klinsmann in a somewhat delicate situation, who in the four friendlies, all of them in South Korea, that he has led has barely managed to add two draws. He debuted with a 2-2 against Colombia and then lost against Uruguay (1-2) and Peru (0-1).
Data sheet
South Korea: Kim Seung-gyu; Seol Yong-woo, Jung Seung-hyun, Park Ji-soo, Kim Jin-su (Park Kyu-hyun, d.58); Hwang In-beom, Park Yong-woo (Hong Hyun-seok, m.58), Lee Jae-sung (Hwang Ui-jo, m.46); Lee Kang-in, Hwang Hee-chan (Son Heung-min, d.69); and Cho Gue-sung (Oh Hyeon-gyu, d.69).
Coach: Jurgen Klinsmann.
El Salvador: Tomás Romero; Alexander Roldán, Eriq Zavaleta, Erick Cabalceta, Bryan Tamacas; Narciso Orellana (Bryan Landaverde, m.70), Christian Martínez (Jairo Henríquez, m.84); Leonardo Menjívar (Mayer Gil, m.58), Harold Osorio (Melvin Cartagena, m.78), Kevin Reyes (Joshua Pérez, m.75); and Brayan Gil (Cristian Gil, m.81).
Coach: Hugo Pérez.
Goals: 1-0, m.49: Hwang Ui-jo. 1-1, m.87: Alexander Roldán.
Referee: Muhammad Bin Jahari (SGP). He admonished Leonardo Menjívar (m.44), Jairo Henríquez (m.94) and Melvin Cartagena (m.95).
Incidents: Friendly match played at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium played with a temperature of 23 degrees Celsius and 65% humidity.
