Kim Tae-won Theater's equalizer bam! South Korea advanced to the quarterfinals as No. 1 in the group with a 1-1 draw in the first Korea-Japan match of this year...Clash with Uzbekistan
Feb 20, 2025
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Coach Lee changed eight spots compared to the starting lineup against Thailand in the third Group D match of the 2025 U-20 Asian Cup against Japan at the first pitch of the youth soccer training base in Shenzhen, China on the 20th (Korea time). Only winger Yoon Do-young (Daejeon), midfielder Lee Chang-woo (Pohang), and defender Lee Kun-hee (Suwon) were listed in the starting lineup for the second consecutive game. The goalkeeper also changed from Park Sang-young (Daegu) to Kim Min-soo (Daejeon). Shin Min-ha (Gangwon) failed to make the entry due to cumulative warning disciplinary action. South Korea secured an early advance to the quarterfinals by winning 2-1 in the first round against Syria and 4-1 in the second round against Thailand. South Korea, which has six points in two games, entered the final match with a two-point gap with Japan (four points), which is second in the group. On the 19th, the day before Korea and Japan, the opponent for the quarterfinals was decided. Iran (9 points), which has won all three games, advanced to the quarterfinals as the top of Group C. 'Defending champion' Uzbekistan (6 points) was second in Group C. Uzbekistan was decided to face Japan in the quarterfinals on the 23rd.
Lee Chang-won, who turned his rotation and changed his defensive tactics from three-back to four-back, was dragged away by giving Japan the lead from the beginning. In the 26th minute of the first half, goalkeeper Kim Min-soo fired off Ogura Kosei's mid-range shot. However, two minutes later, Kim Min-soo made a mistake in the opponent's attack situation and went back and forth between heaven and hell. A low cross flew into the gate from the left side of our camp. The ball that Kim Min-soo blew off hit Kanda Soma's body right in front of her and headed into the goal. In the 39th minute of the first half, Jungwoo Ha (Seongnam)'s header in front of the gate was blocked by the opponent's goalkeeper, and the first half ended 0-1.
Coach Lee, who felt anxious about the goal, put Hong Sung-min (Pohang) out of Kim Min-soo at half-time. It's a very unusual decision to replace the goalkeeper during the game. In the 13th minute of the second half, when the game did not go as desired, he simultaneously deployed offensive resources such as Park Seung-soo (Suwon) and Kim Tae-won (Portimonens), pulling the reins of the chase. 'Out-of-home performance' did not come back easily. At the end of the game, he showed a winning move with strong forward pressure. In the 38th minute of the second half, Park Seung-soo's long pass to the gate did not touch Yoon Do-young's feet. The goal was only opened in the first minute of extra time in the second half. Joker Kim Tae-won's ball aimed at the left side of the goal at the left diagonal point of the penalty area was inserted into the net. Kim Tae-won, who scored multiple goals in the last match against Thailand, has stood tall as a new troubleshooter, scoring three goals in two games. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. Kim Tae-won said, `I could never lose the match against Korea. I feel bad about the draw, but I think I'm lucky that I finished first in the group."
The goal of the U-20 team is clear. It's a victory. South Korea has not won a title for 13 years since winning its 12th career U-20 championship in the United Arab Emirates (then the U-19 Championship) in 2012. He was eliminated early after losing to Japan in the final group match of the 2014 Myanmar tournament. The Korea-Japan match was a revenge battle for U-20 level players. South Korea later failed to participate in the group stage at the 2016 Bahrain tournament, finished second at the 2018 Indonesia tournament, and tied for third at the 2023 Uzbekistan tournament. From 2014 to the 2023 tournament, Qatar, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan won the championship one after another. Director Lee's focus was on beyond the quarterfinals from the beginning. In Uzbekistan, all the main players are expected to be dispatched to hunt for victory.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
