The under-20 (U-20) soccer team has taken the first step to regain the top spot in Asia after 11 years and to qualify for the World Cup. However, national team coach Kim Eun-joong was wary of young players’ arrogance.
The Korean national team defeated Oman 4-0 in the first leg of Group C of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-20 Asian Cup group stage held at the JAR Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on the 2nd.
The only foreign striker in the national team, Kim Yong-hak (Portimonense) scored 1 goal and 1 assist, Seong Jin-yeong (Korea University) scored 2 goals, and Kang Seong-jin (FC Seoul), who came on as a substitute in the second half, scored a key goal in extra time to win the game.
Until the middle of the first half, the movements of the players were somewhat rigid, but after Kim Yong-hak’s preemptive goal in the 30th minute of the first half, they regained energy and pushed their arrogance.
According to the Korea Football Association, coach Kim said at a press conference after the game, “The game went well as our team prepared.” could,” he said.
In the second half of the game, as the game turned sharply, the Omani players’ rough play led to a dangerous situation in which our players were concerned about injuries.
As if sensing an abnormal current, coach Kim used all five replacement cards in turn from the 18th minute of the second half, protecting the main players and giving players on the bench a chance to play. 토토사이트
Regarding this, coach Kim said, “Omani players have excellent individual skills and prepared for this by playing strong soccer based on physical fights.” “But we prepared more to play well than this.”
Regarding the referee’s decision, which did not budge despite the Omani players’ rough tackle, he said, “It’s part of the game.”
In this tournament, 16 countries will be divided into 4 groups of 4 countries, and after the group stage, the top 2 teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals and continue to compete for the title in a single match.