After excluding three Premier League players (Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo and Seol Ki-hyeon) due to their injuries, South Korea had difficulty again in the Asian Cup. Furthermore, some players including the captain Lee Woon-jae were criticised by fans for visiting a hostess bar in the middle of the group stage. South Korea's outfield players made only three goals during the competition. However, Lee led his team to third place by keeping four clean sheets and winning two penalty shoot-outs.