Korea settled for a 1-1 draw against El Salvador in their latest friendly football match Tuesday, conceding a late equalizer after taking the lead in the second half.
The result left Korea head coach Jurgen Klinsmann winless in his first four matches in charge here.
Second-half sub Hwang Ui-jo put the hosts on the board four minutes into the second half at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon, 140 kilometers south of Seoul. But Alex Roldan headed home a Jairo Henriquez free kick to pull El Salvador level in the 87th minute, as Korea let a win slip through their fingers.
Korea previously had a 2-2 draw against Colombia and lost to Uruguay 2-1 in March. Last Friday, Korea lost to Peru 1-0.
From Korea’s previous match against Peru on Friday, Klinsmann replaced four players in the starting lineup. Left back Kim Jin-su 추천 drew in for Lee Ki-je, and right back Seol Young-woo earned his first international cap by getting the nod over Ahn Hyun-beom, who was dropped from the team after the Peru match with an injury.
Midfielder Park Yong-woo, who replaced injured Won Du-jae in the second half of Friday’s match, started Tuesday’s match.
Forward Cho Gue-sung, who subbed in for Oh Hyeon-gyu on Friday, got the start this time.
Son Heung-min, who sat out Friday’s match while recovering from a recent sports hernia surgery, was once again on the bench at the start of Tuesday’s tilt.
Korea grabbed the early control of the match, just as Klinsmann had implored the team to do Monday. In the fifth minute, midfielder Lee Jae-sung tested goalkeeper Tomas Romero with a shot from close-range, after Seol Young-woo passed the ball into open space on the right flank.