Amouta provided a tactical football lesson in Jordan’s victory over South Korea (French)

The most optimistic, supporters and fans of the Jordanian national team were not for the latter to start their match against South Korea in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup, with high pressure and a torrent of attacks that confused “Al-Samson” and made him take time to get into the atmosphere of the match.

With a 3-4-2-1 plan, Moroccan Hussein Amouta fought a tactical duel with German Jurgen Klinsmann, who adopted an offensive style with a 4-3-3 plan. It is noteworthy that the two coaches who faced each other in the group stage changed the two tactical drawings they adopted in the first match, so Amouta 3-4-3 was adopted and the German developed a 4-4-2 plan.

Amouta's plan paid off quickly, as he played with the clear spearhead, Yazan Al-Naimat, and was succeeded by Musa Al-Taamari and Mahmoud Al-Mardi. He moved the defensive "block" to the areas of South Korea and began to put pressure on Son Heung-min and his teammates from the first minute of the match.

A historic moment 🇯🇴🌟@VisitSaudiAR #AsianCup2023 | #Magic_Moments | #Jordan_Koreapic.twitter.com/o0cvIGUOQa

- #Asia_Cup 2023 (@afcasiancup_ar) February 6, 2024

Pressure and exploitation of opportunities

Klinsmann developed an offensive plan to force the Jordanian national team to retreat to defense, but the German coach's calculations did not agree with the course of the World Cup match at Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium.

The first half ended in a scoreless draw, with the Jordanian players making an exceptional physical effort, and the Nashami fans on the field were wondering about the possibility of continuing to provide this physical effort, especially since Amouta asked his players to narrow the spaces for the Koreans and prevent them from building attacks from the back, but this request requires doubling the physical effort. And winning the doubles against a skilled team whose players are active in the best leagues in the world.

The second half begins with the Korean team taking control, whose players began to impose their style on the match, but the high pressure on a weak defense (conceding 9 goals in 6 matches) from Musa Al-Taamari resulted in an error in returning the ball from “Jae Sung” to walk with it and pass it perfectly towards Al-Naimat, who was shot by Loeb. Over the advancing goalkeeper, opening the scoring for Jordan.

What did you do, Mousa? @TamariMousa 😱😨#AsiaCup2023 | #Come onAsia | #Jordan_Korea pic.twitter.com/Xhbd55UftT

- #Asia_Cup 2023 (@afcasiancup_ar) February 6, 2024

But the Jordanian players, at Amouta's request, did not fully defend themselves and maintained the high pressure. The Koreans and their coach seemed lost after they fell into Amouta's technical "trap" and lost the basic weapon they possess, which is speed, short passes, and dropping balls behind the opponent's defenders.

German Jurgen Klinsmann, coach of the South Korean national team, expresses his admiration for the wonderful work being done by Moroccan Hussein Amouta, coach of the Jordanian national team pic.twitter.com/PPkXqMhE50

- Al Jazeera Net Sports (@AJASports) February 7, 2024

"Zombie Football"

In the midst of this "disorientation", Al-Taamari succeeded, after a new wonderful individual effort, in strengthening his team's lead when he walked the ball about 20 meters from the outskirts of the area, shooting a ball with his left hand that the Korean goalkeeper was unable to stop (66).

With 24 minutes remaining in the match, Amouta had to strengthen the defense line to maintain the result and achieve historic qualification, so he modified the plan to 5-4-1, and Al-Taamari and Al-Naimat exchanged the spearhead position and were assigned the task of occupying the Korean defense.

All this was happening and Klinsmann did not react, and seemed as if he had surrendered and accepted his tactical loss to Amouta, as he did not succeed with his changes in extracting his team from the Jordanian quicksand and the defense that played valiantly and prevented the Korean national team players from shooting even once between the three sticks.

It seems that Klinsmann was counting on a dramatic return in the result, as happened three times previously against Jordan (himself), Saudi Arabia, and then Australia, but Nashama’s second goal was a final blow to the “football of the living dead” presented by the German coach, according to the description of the Korean media. .

Leader of the Jordanian dream 🧠😎#AsiaCup2023 | #Come onAsia | #Jordan_Korea pic.twitter.com/BImMkYUVdF

- #Asia_Cup 2023 (@afcasiancup_ar) February 6, 2024

Numbers don't lie

This description comes because of the way the German coach kept coming back from the dead, before he was finally buried in the semi-finals at the hands of Jordan, which well deserved the win, according to Klinsmann's own admission.

The numbers indicate that Amouta left the “negative” possession to Klinsmann’s sons (70% vs. 30%) in return for Jordan’s free activity, as the team shot 17 times on goal, including 7 between the three sticks, compared to 8 shots for the Koreans, including zero on goal.

The result of these numbers confirms that the “starchy” defeated the “Taeguk Warriors” by knockout, and what the local “MK Sports” website wrote summarizes the match, saying that Klinsmann’s men “made Jordan look like Brazil... and South Korea lost without even fighting.”

Source: Al Jazeera