Morenojo, ending the feud, lost 0-1 in the first half to Saudi Arabia

(Doha [Qatar] = Yonhap News) Reporters Lee Young-ho and Ahn Hong-seok = The Korean national soccer team reached halftime trailing 0-1 to Saudi Arabia in the first game of a two-game series away to the Middle East.

The Korean national team, led by interim coach Robert Moreno, conceded a goal in extra time in the first half in a friendly match against Saudi Arabia held at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on the 14th.

In the 46th minute of the first half, Marwan Al-Sahafi scored the first goal with a right-footed shot from the right corner of Abdullah Alhamdan's penetrating pass from the back.

Following the September-October evaluation match, Coach Moreno drew up the starting list according to the 4-4-2 tactic.

The starting list included all of the national team's core resources, including captain Son Heung-min (LAFC) and his feuding '96 line members, Hwang Hee-chan (Schalke), Hwang In-beom (Porto), and Kim Min-jae (Munich).

The 96th line players raised questions about Son Heung-min's leadership and staged a 'retirement uproar' in the game against Uzbekistan, the last game of the evaluation match in September-October.

At this convocation, they issued a statement expressing their agreement again.

Son Heung-min and Oh Hyun-gyu (Besiktas) were placed at the forefront, and Hwang Hee-chan and Lee Kang-in (Atletico Madrid) were on the left and right wings.

Hwang In-beom and Park Jin-seop (Storage) stood in the midfield.

Cho Hyun-taek (Ulsan) and Seol Young-woo (Augsburg) played left and right fullbacks, while Kim Min-jae and Lee Han-beom (Brugge) played central defenders. Seung-gyu Kim (Tokyo) wore the goalkeeper gloves.

Saudi Arabia threatened Korea's back space with a quick change of attack.

In the 5th minute of the first half, Abdullah Alhamdan connected with a mid-range shot after Kim Min-jae's defensive mistake caused the ball to flow. Kim Seung-gyu caught a shot that did not have much power.

In the 28th minute of the first half, Kim Seung-gyu managed to hit Al-Sahafi's sharp mid-range shot.

Korea struggled but created several opportunities.

In the 20th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min finished the forward pass delivered by Hwang Hee-chan after bypassing two defenders with his left foot in front of the goal area and missed the right side of the goal.

In the end, the first goal went to Saudi Arabia, which showed a nutritious offensive development. Al-Sahafi scored the first goal just one minute into extra time.

Saudi Arabia is ranked 55th in the FIFA rankings, 23 places below Korea (32nd). Among Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member countries, Korea ranks fourth and Saudi Arabia ranks fifth.

Korea is in a tight match with Saudi Arabia with a record of 5 wins, 9 draws, and 5 losses.

However, since losing 0-1 to Saudi Arabia in August 2005, Korea has maintained a good trend of not losing with 2 wins and 4 draws in the 6 games played (the penalty shootout victory was recorded as a draw).