Korean football felt the absence of 'iron wall' Kim Min-jae (29, Bayern Munich).

The national football team led by coach Hong Myung-bo (56) drew 1-1 against Jordan in the '2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asian Region Third Qualifiers Group B Match 8' held at Suwon World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 25th.

After drawing both home matches, South Korea, ranked first (4 wins, 4 draws, 16 points), is being pursued by second-placed Jordan (3 wins, 4 draws, 1 loss) by three points. The early confirmation of South Korea's qualification for the World Cup has also become a mirage.

Coach Hong Myung-bo included the key defender Kim Min-jae in the national team list of 28 players on the 10th. Kim Min-jae played the full 90 minutes against Bayer Leverkusen on the 12th and aggravated his injury. He missed the match against VfL Bochum on the 8th due to injury but returned for one game only to have a recurrence.

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany officially confirmed at a press conference on the 14th that 'Kim Min-jae is injured. I hope he doesn't take a long time to recover, but he won't be able to play for at least a few weeks.'

Ultimately, the Korea Football Association excluded Kim Min-jae and chose Kim Joo-sung as a substitute player. Coach Hong Myung-bo pointed out in an interview during the training camp on the 17th that Bayern's management of Kim Min-jae's injury was negligent.

Coach Hong said, 'Kim Min-jae is an important player not only for the national team but also for Bayern Munich. Despite continuously detecting signals of his injury risk, he did not receive adequate protection. Considering this, we decided to give him a rest.'

German media rebutted, 'If Kim Min-jae was such a concern, Coach Hong Myung-bo shouldn't have included him in the national team since October.'

South Korea suffered a 0-2 defeat to Jordan in the semifinals of the Qatar Asian Cup last July. At that time, Kim Min-jae could not play due to accumulated cautions. In a similar situation, Kim Young-gwon and Jung Seung-hyun partnered as center-backs.

However, this time, without Kim Min-jae, another center-back, Jung Seung-hyun, was injured during training and was released from the team. In the match against Jordan, Cho Yu-min and Kwon Kyung-won started. Both players had filled the gap left by Kim Min-jae during his injury in the Qatar World Cup. Lee Tae-seok and Seol Young-woo were deployed as full-backs.

In the 24th minute of the first half, Al Tamari, who attempted to break through from the right side, fell after being pushed by Hwang Hee-chan. The game was briefly halted, but there was no injury. Al Tamari wore an expression of frustration. This reflects how South Korea seized early control.

Letting down one's guard was a mistake. In the 30th minute of the first half, Park Yong-woo lost the ball in the midfield, allowing for a counterattack. Jo Hyun-woo threw himself to save a threatening shot from Al-Naimat. However, Mahmod Al-Mardi scored the equalizer with a second shot from the rebound. Despite five Korean players in front of him, none managed to block the shot.

Although South Korea had many defenders, they were confused by the opponent's counterattack and failed to secure a good position. The initial granting of space for the Jordanian player to shoot was the root cause. This was the moment that reminded them of Kim Min-jae's absence.

In the 44th minute of the first half, Jordan sought a counterattack with a long pass. When the forward caught the ball, there would be an unmarked one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. At that moment, the long pass accidentally hit the referee's face, fortuitously helping Korea. Thanks to the referee, the wide-open Korean defense evaded another crisis.

Lee Jae-sung scored the first goal well, but South Korea, struck by one counterattack, drew 1-1. While Kim Min-jae's absence was a problem, South Korea failed to respond effectively to the opponent's attack.

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