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| XinhuaYonhap News |
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| XinhuaYonhap News |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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'Next-generation big striker'Jaemok Kim Tae-won (20, Portimonens) has emerged as a key key to the South Korean U-20 national soccer team, which has won the Asian championship for the first time in 13 years, with consecutive scoring including the Korea-Japan match.
Kim Tae-won replaced Japan in the 13th minute of the second half when he was dragged 0-1 in the third Group D match of the 2025 U-20 Asian Cup at Shenzhen Youth Football Training Base in China on the 20th (Korea time) and scored a dramatic equalizer in 1 minute of extra time in the second half.
Kim Tae-won, who caught the ball at the diagonal point on the left side of the penalty area, aimed at the left side of the goal and kicked the ball with his right foot into the net. The Japanese goalkeeper, who saved our players' shots one after another on the day, was stuck by Kim Tae-won's sharp shot.
South Korea, which had previously won two consecutive games by defeating Syria and Thailand 2-1 and 4-1, respectively, secured one valuable point with Kim Tae-won's goal to secure 7 points and the top spot in Group D.
As a result, Uzbekistan, ranked second in Group C, will face Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals at the same stadium on the 23rd. Japan (5 points), ranking second in Group D, will face Iran, which has won all three games in Group C.
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| XinhuaYonhap News |
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| XinhuaYonhap News |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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| XinhuaYonhap News |
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Kim Tae-won is performing well to match his No. 10 jersey number in this competition. He started as a second-line striker against Syria and played full time for 90 minutes to support his victory. In the second match against Thailand, he scored a come-from-behind goal in the 14th minute of the second half and an additional goal in the 41st minute of the second half. He made consecutive goals with only a high header with a 1m85-tall RBI.
And Kim Tae-won, who started on the bench against Japan, where U-20 national team coach Lee Chang-won turned a big rotation, frustrated Japan with a concentrated shot. If it wasn't for Kim Tae-won's goal, South Korea would have met Iran in the quarterfinals as second in the group. Iran has scored 11 goals in three matches of the tournament and has scored only one goal.
Kim Tae-won was called a monster striker during his time at Yeongdeungpo Technical High School. Kim Tae-won, who contributed to his team's six gold medals with his strong performance, including becoming the top scorer at the 2023 Presidential Gold Cup High School Football Tournament, headed to the European stage in December of that year after receiving a love call from Portimonens.
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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When the domestic professional team pointed out Kim Tae-won's 's 'slow foot' as a disadvantage, Portimonens noted his potential as a big striker. Usually, prospects go through tricky tryouts to enter European clubs, but Portimonens also did the tryouts 'skip'. Kim Tae-won has built his skills mainly at the U-23 level for about a year since joining the team.
Kim Tae-won, who already scored consecutive goals in the U-20 Asian Cup regional qualifiers against Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in September last year, is currently tied for the lead in scoring along with Esma Ale Golizadeh (Iran) and Muhamadali Uriboev (Uzbank).
In the past, when Korea won the tournament, the best striker showed off his presence without fail. Choi Soon-ho won the 1980 Thailand tournament, Lee Dong-guk at the 1998 Thailand tournament, and Park Chu-young at the 2004 Malaysia tournament won the top scorer and MVP of the tournament. South Korea has not been linked to the trophy for 13 years since winning the UAE tournament for the 12th time in 2012, and the performance of goaltenders such as Kim Tae-won is important to end the match.
Lee Chang-won, who has turned a large rotation, is expected to invest all of his main resources in the quarterfinals against Uzbekistan on the 23rd. Uzbekistan won the 2023 Uzbekistan Games 'Shinheunggangho'. You can never let your guard down.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
