South Korea dedicated its opening goal against Jordan to its injured goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu in a Group E game of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 at the Al Thumama Stadium here on Saturday.
The 33-year-old veteran, who played its opener against Bahrain, was ruled out of the rest of the tournament, after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury before the game.
The Taeguk Warriors got a penalty in the fourth minute when Ehsan Haddad tackled their captain Son Heung-Min in the box.
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The referee, Salman Ahmad Falahi initially did not give a foul, but after discussing with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and looking at the challenge again on the monitor, he pointed to the spot.
The Tottenham Hotspur forward scored with a panenka to the ecstasy of thousands of fans turning up at the stadium. After celebrating with the team, he ran to the touchline, and lifted up Seug-gyu’s jersey to the crowd, dedicating the goal to him.
Seung-gyu had played an important role in Korea’s 3-1 win in the previous match, recovering the ball 12 times and making one crucial save. But on Thursday, while training with the team, he suffered a torn ligament in his right knee, ruling him out of the rest of the tournament.
“We’re very sad about Seung-gyu’s injury. It’s part of sports and it’s part of a tournament,” Korea’s head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said during his pre-match press conference. “We have to move on. We keep him in our thoughts. He’s with us even if he’s injured and we fight for him.”
Midfielder Lee Jae-sung, who had joined Klinsmann at the presser added, “We were all devastated with Seung-gyu’s injury. It’s really unfortunate,”
“We’ll never forget all the work he’d put in to prepare for this Asian Cup, and we’ll go out there and battle hard for him. We have 25 players left here and I think his absence will give everyone extra motivation.”
