“(Klinsmann) feels responsible for the draw, and it helps that Saudi Arabia has a lot of good strikers.”
So said national team goalkeeper Kim Seung-kyu (Al Shabab) after his clean sheet defense against Wales. “It’s a process to prepare for the Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers,” he said after the 0-0 draw with Wales in an A-match trial at Cardiff City Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom, on Monday morning (Aug. 8). We wanted to show our preparation in the game, but I’m not satisfied with the result,” he said, adding, “I’m happy that we kept a clean sheet in defense.”
On the day, Kim Seung-gyu faced a fast-footed attacker. He made a crucial save in the 13th minute when he was one-on-one with Harry Wilson, and also cleared a threatening cross from Brennan Johnson. In the second half, he was equally instrumental in keeping South Korea to a clean sheet, parrying a knife-edge cross from captain and defender Ben Davies, who had moved into the attack.
Kim’s saves were one of the few consolations for South Korea, who have gone five games without a win (three draws and two losses) since Jürgen Klinsmann’s arrival despite fielding jet-lagged European strikers in a “colorless tactic.” Kim plays in the Saudi Arabian league, which has seen the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nasr), Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad), Neymar da Silva (Al Hilal) and other top strikers this summer. “Sometimes I’m surprised by the way they play,” he said, “because there are so many good strikers (in the Saudi league), so it’s a challenge for a goalkeeper, but it’s a good experience.
Here’s a one-on-one with Kim
- You made some great saves, including a crucial one in the first half.
As Coach Klinsmann mentioned, we are preparing for the Asian Cup and World Cup qualifiers, and it’s a process. We wanted to show our preparation in the game, but we are not satisfied with the result, but we are satisfied with our defense.
- Wales had a lot of fast attackers like Johnson, what did you talk to your defenders about?
They have fast players on the flanks and a very physical center-forward, so I knew they would try to use him a lot. I talked to the defenders and Coach Chaduri showed me a lot of videos before the game.
- There are a lot of changes in the national team right now, from the back line to the third line. As a goalkeeper, what do you ask the players to do?
We are changing a lot, but I think the national team always performs well on the field no matter who comes in. As a goalkeeper, I tend to tell them to do what they’re used to doing in the team rather than focusing on (them).
- There’s a lot of negativity around the team and the coach without a win under Klinsmann. I think there’s a lot of pressure on the players. 온라인카지노
As a player coming into the national team after playing since Klinsmann’s arrival, I feel responsible because we haven’t won any (A) matches recently. I think we need to get some results in the World Cup qualifiers and Asian Cup preparations to be confident at that stage. I want to work on the bad areas and get results from the next game.
- There are a lot of superstar players in the Saudi league these days.