SEOUL, South Korea will start their captain Son Heung-min as striker against Jordan in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup on Tuesday in Qatar.
The Tottenham Hotspur talisman will be leading the attack at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan, west of Doha, starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday local time, or midnight Wednesday in South Korea.
Lining up behind the skipper will be a trio of Europe-based attackers: Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz 05) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain).
Son and Lee Kang-in are tied for the team lead with three goals apiece.
On defense, South Korea will be without Bayern Munich center back Kim Min-jae, who picked up his second yellow card of the tournament late in the quarterfinal match against Australia.
Jung Seung-hyun (Ulsan HD FC) drew in for Kim, after starting alongside him in a back-four formation in the first two group stage matches.
Kim Young-gwon, Jung’s teammate at Ulsan, will be the other center back. They will
be flanked by Seol Young-woo (Ulsan) on the left and Kim Tae-hwan (Jeonbuk) on the right.
Hwang In-beom (Crvena zvezda) and Park Yong-woo (Al Ain FC) are back as the midfield duo for the second straight match.
Jo Hyeon-woo (Ulsan) will make his fifth straight start in goal. The goalkeeper stopped two penalties in South Korea’s shootout win over Saudi Arabia in the round of 16 and made some crucial late saves against Australia to keep his team in the game before they came back for the extra-time win.
The winner of this match will face either Iran or the host country Qatar in the final set for Saturday in Lusail, just north of Doha.
South Korea are trying to win their first AFC crown since 1960.
Source: Yonhap News Agency