The South Korea U-20 National Team has qualified for the round of 16 at the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023. They still have a final Group F match against The Gambia to play, but have secured one of the four wild cards regardless of the result.
On Monday morning (July 28), Japan came from behind to defeat 10-man Israel 1-2. The result clinched third place with one win, two losses, and three points. In the third place group, which is currently in contention for a wildcard, Japan is in danger of being eliminated as it trails Slovakia (1W, 2D, 3P) on goal difference.
South Korea, on the other hand, already has four points with one win and one draw. So even if they lose to the Gambia, they’ll still qualify for at least a wild card. They have secured at least a fourth-place finish among the six nations in the third-place group and are guaranteed a spot in the round of 16. 토토사이트
South Korea, who finished as runners-up for the first time in the 2019 edition of the tournament, will have a chance to not only reach the round of 16 for the third consecutive time, but to once again reclaim past glories.
However, the Gambia game is not a cakewalk. South Korea will need to finish the group stage as high as possible to ensure they face a relatively ‘weak’ opponent in the round of 16. Of course, the quality of all the teams in the round of 16 shouldn’t be taken lightly, but at least they’ll be able to avoid meeting a top-ranked team.
Japan, meanwhile, have fallen to the back of the pack in the wildcard race, and face the prospect of being knocked out of the group stage for the first time in 22 years since 2001.