The South Korea U-23 (under-23) football team will face Vietnam in the quarterfinals of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. This is the same team that defeated South Korea in a penalty shootout during the third-place playoff of the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) U-23 Asian Cup in January. It marked the first time South Korea had lost to Vietnam at the U-23 level.
According to the bracket announced on the 24th, South Korea will compete against Vietnam for a spot in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on the 25th at the Nagoya Mizuhō Rugby Stadium. For Lee Min-sung, the U-23 team’s head coach, this match holds significance beyond a mere first-round knockout game, given the humiliation suffered against the same opponents in the Asian Cup.
The man who defeated South Korea at the time was Kim Sang-sik, the Vietnam A-team coach who also oversees the U-23 squad. Kim became a national hero in Vietnam following that victory.
However, for these Asian Games, the team is led by interim coach Din Hong-bin, as Kim temporarily stepped down to focus on preparing the A-team for the FIFA ASEAN Cup. The South Korean squad, which advanced by defeating Qatar 4-1 and Saudi Arabia 2-0 in the group stage, split players into recovery and training groups on the 23rd for practice.
Host nation Japan will face North Korea in the quarterfinals at Toyota Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on the 26th. The two teams previously clashed during the 2023 Hangzhou Games, when North Korean defender Kim Yu-sung threatened to assault a Japanese medical staff member. Japan won that match 2-1.
The remaining quarterfinals are set as follows: China-Thailand (3:00 p.m. on the 26th at Toyota), Uzbekistan-Saudi Arabia (25:00 p.m. on the 25th at Mizuhō Rugby). If South Korea defeats Vietnam, they will face the winner of the China-Thailand match at Osaka Nagai Stadium at 3:00 p.m. on the 30th. The final will be held at Toyota Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on October 3rd.
Leave a comment