South Korea were given a big test in their Group E Round 2 tie, needing a late goal to hold Jordan to a 2-2 draw.
One of the encouraging aspects of South Korea's performance, despite the loss of points, was the fact that they dominated on the sides and created chances on a few occasions. However, they still need to improve the quality of their final kick in front of goal. The Tigers still need all three points to qualify for the second round, and as Malaysia look to be playing a 5-4-1 defense, they will need to take advantage of the width of the pitch, so Lee Kang-in and Lee Jae-seong will need to play on the wings.
Malaysia lost their second consecutive match against Bahrain 0-1, in other words, they are out of the competition for sure. Malaysia played with a large number of defenders for most of the game and managed to keep the opposition out of open spaces. It is worth mentioning that Dean Gulls played well, but they need to improve on their man-marking when dealing with the opposition's crosses. Up front, Arif Ayman is still able to create an attacking rhythm for his team with his aggressive style of play. If Malaysia want to get points this time, they need to play more defenders again, have a good positional sense when dealing with opposition crosses, and try not to concede in the first half. Offensively, they must try to pull South Korea's center pair out of the game, and then break through the back of their second pair. South Korea will need to improve the quality of their team's play, but Malaysia tends to be a passive side, and I think the Tigers can eventually utilize the side of the ball to get a sweet spot and seal the win.
Jordan vs Bahrain in the same group. Jordan had a good performance in their last match, but unfortunately, South Korea tied the game at the end of the match, and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. Although they conceded the first goal in the early part of the match, Jordan had a hard time for a while, but they managed to resist South Korea's attack and attacked the opponent with quick counter-attacks. They managed to keep the ball at the front line so that they could continue to attack the opponent, so I am not surprised that they took the lead before they overtook the South Korean. Jordan can secure a place in the round of 16 if they get one more point, and I think Aidamali will be the most threatening player in the offense of the team. He is not only powerful, but also has the ability to twist and turn, and he can rewrite the game with his individual skills. Although he failed to score against South Korea, I am sure he will be a threat in this match.
Bahrain got their first win of the tournament with a 1-0 victory over Malaysia in the second round of Group E. They were unable to cope with Malaysia's tight 5-4-1 defense in the first half. They were unable to cope with Malaysia's tight 5-4-1 defense in the first half, but gradually started to create chances on the sides of the field, however, they need to improve their ability in front of goal. Bahrain need all three points to have a chance to qualify for the knockout stage. Although they will be forced to defend most of the time against Jordan, but Alhassan Shahshah is capable of attacking the opponent on his own. Jordan has shown that they are a quality team so far, and will be hoping to control their own destiny, but they will have to take some risks against the highly motivated Bahrain, and I think Jordan can win in the end to get out of the tournament.
In Group F, Kirghizia lost their second consecutive group stage match 0-2 after two players were expelled for red cards in their defeat against Saudi Arabia. The biggest problem for Kyrgyz in that defeat was their failure to make adjustments after individual players made mistakes, the most obvious being the two red cards they received. However, when they played with 11 or even 10 men, their 5-man defense and 4-man midfield line did a great job of pressing, reducing the number of openings and making them a threat on counter-attacks. If they can win this match, they will still be able to qualify for the Round of 16. In other words, they have to play offensively, but also focus on keeping their defense tight. The last time these two sides met in November 2023, Adolav Manlov scored the winning goal and I expect him to be the centerpiece of the team again.
Oman scored their first point of the tournament with a 0-0 draw against Thailand in the 2nd round of the group stage. They had a lot of possession in that game, but failed to gain any advantage on the wing against Thailand, who had a large number of defenders. Oman will also need to win this match if they want to have any chance of advancing to the knockout stage. They cannot afford to give Kirghiz time to control the game, and should capitalize on Kirghiz's counterattacks when they make mistakes in their immediate deliveries. Kyrgyzstan have two suspended players and failed to defend against Oman's crosses the last time the two sides met, plus Oman are determined to finish 3rd in the group stage, so I expect Oman to win this game.
As for the other match in the same group, Saudi Arabia beat Kyrgyzstan 2-0 in the 2nd round of the group stage to qualify for the round of 16. In that win, Saudi Arabia's star player Aidah Shahri controlled the team's tempo and created many chances as usual, but the team lacked the power in front of the goal and had to work hard to win the game. I expect them to rest some of their key players, especially those with yellow cards, but if Ebrahim plays, I think he will be a threat from the wing, as Thailand seems to have failed to defend their opponents' crosses into their own penalty area.
