South 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 South 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 South Korea let a win slip through their fingers.
South Korea previously had a 2-2 draw against Colombia and lost to Uruguay 2-1 in March. Last Friday, South Korea lost to Peru 1-0.
From South Korea's previous match against Peru on Friday, Klinsmann replaced four players in the starting lineup. Left back Kim Jin-su 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.
South 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.
Four minutes later, Kim Jin-su crossed for forward Cho Gue-sung from the left wing, though Cho's header went wide left of the target.
Cho tried to score with his right foot in the 13th minute but airmailed his attempt from outside the center of the box.
South Korea nearly gift-wrapped a goal to El Salvador in the 18th minute, when defender Seol Young-woo's ill-advised clearing attempt rolled right to Narciso Orellana, whose shot from just inside the box sailed high and right.
South Korea kept pressing for the first goal, with left-footed Lee Kang-in firing a right-footed shot from inside the box in the 20th minute.
Lee used his strong foot for another shot attempt in the 28th minute that flew over the target.
El Salvador tried to push back just before the half-hour mark, with Christian Martinez beating everyone to the loose ball on the right wing and firing a shot that deflected off the leg of defender Kim Jin-su.
Hwang In-beom unleashed one last shot for South Korea during stoppage time, forcing Romero to make a diving stop to keep the match scoreless.
Super sub Hwang Ui-jo broke the deadlock four minutes into the second half.
After taking a pass from Hwang Hee-chan, Hwang Ui-jo put defender Bryan Tamacas on a spin cycle, and fired a shot through Tamacas' legs and past Romero on the short side. It was his 17th international goal and first since June 14, 2022, against Egypt.
South Korea pressed hard for the next goal, with Lee Kang-in finding Cho for an off-target header with a corner in the 64th and Hwang Hee-chan's header landing on the top of the net in the 69th.
Hwang Ui-jo went for a brace in the 79th minute, when his well-struck shot from the right side of the box was turned aside by Romero.
Son Heung-min subbed in for Hwang Hee-chan in the 70th minute. But the longtime captain failed to pad South Korea's lead, and El Salvador made the hosts pay for frittering away chances.
With the clock ticking down, El Salvador earned a free kick outside the box. With Jairo Henriquez taking the spot kick, Alex Roldan beat defenders to the ball with a diving header that zipped past goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu.
Source: Yonhap News Agency