The South Korean Under-20 (U-20) National Team, led by coach Kim Eun-jong-ho, has been making waves with its upset victory over ‘favorite’ France. In particular, FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) was impressed by ‘Captain’ Lee Seung-won (20-Gangwon FC)’s goal.
On the 24th, FIFA highlighted Lee’s goal on its official social networking service (SNS), calling it “The perfect counterattack”. Earlier, on the 23rd, the official website introduced, “South Korea won against France by scoring a goal with an amazing counterattack.”
In reality, the counterattack was a “textbook example of a counterattack.” After successfully defending a corner kick in the 22nd minute, Kim Yong-hak (20-Portimonense) quickly sprinted down the left flank and calmly looked around for a teammate. Lee Seung-won quickly rushed to the front of the penalty arc and received the pass, which he accurately slid into the bottom left corner of the goal.
As Lee took his shot, he was closely followed by Brayan Pereira (20-Bur Peronas), who could have easily lost his concentration and sent his shot wide. But he kept his composure to finish. It was the “best moment” of the day for the Koreans, who shut down France with just two men. 메이저놀이터
Coach Kim Eun-joong said, “France was the favorite, so we prepared for a counterattack. The players did a good job of following the tactics we had prepared,” he said. Lee Seung-won recalled the goal: “It was hard, but I pulled out all my strength and penetrated (into the penalty box), and after receiving a pass from (Kim) Yong-hak, I had a one-on-one chance, so I was able to finish easily.”
With the 2-1 victory over France, South Korea moved to the top of Group F (1W-3D) and gave themselves a “green light” to advance to the Round of 16 for the second straight tournament. In the all-time series against France (at U-20 level), the Koreans narrowed the gap to 2 wins (3 draws and 4 losses). Most notably, it was the first win in two matches in three years at the U-20 World Cup. They now face Honduras in the second round on Sept. 25.