Another golden generation of Korean men’s football sets out to clear up the long history of humiliation in the Korea-Japan War. The U-17 national team will advance to the final of the U-17 Asian Cup and compete against Japan for the championship.안전놀이터
The U-17 soccer team led by coach Byun Seong-hwan advanced to the final by beating Uzbekistan 1-0 in the semifinals of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-17 Asian Cup held at Pathum Thani Stadium in Thailand on the night of the 29th. Korea, which won the tournament in 1986 and 2002, will now challenge for its first championship in 21 years in the final on July 2nd.
The opponent to compete for the championship is Japan. Japan, which defeated Iran 3-0 in the semifinals, is the defending champion and holds the record for most victories in the tournament (three).
This is the first time Korea and Japan will meet in the final of the U-17 Asian Cup.
Korean men’s soccer has been given an opportunity for revenge. Korea lost 0-3 to Japan at the U-16 International Dream Cup held in Sendai, Japan last June. In this tournament, where the national team became the U-17 national team, Korea went on a winning streak until the final and met Japan again.
It is also an opportunity to end the history of defeats in the Korea-Japan war, which continues throughout Korean football. Since 2021, Korea has been losing four consecutive matches between Korea and Japan. All 4 losses were helpless without scoring a single goal.
In March 2021, it lost 0-3 in an A match held in Yokohama, Japan, and in June, the U-23 national team led by coach Hwang Seon-hong lost 0-3 in the quarterfinals of the U-23 Asian Cup held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. In the same month, the U-16 national team also lost 0-3, and in July of that year, the A-team again bowed its head 0-3 in the final game of the East Asian Cup held in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
“I am the hero” Baek In-woo celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Uzbekistan in the U-17 Asian Cup semi-finals held on the night of the 29th. Provided by the Korea Football Association
Korea has recently been making remarkable achievements with its young national team. In the recently ended FIFA U-20 World Cup, the U-20 national team led by coach Kim Eun-joong reached the semifinals for the second consecutive time, and this time the U-17 national team advanced to the final of the Asian Cup, marking the beginning of a new golden generation. notified
In particular, Korea is showing very aggressive soccer in this tournament. In the final match of the group stage against Iran, which rotated to arrange physical strength, they lost 0-2, but scored 15 goals in the remaining 4 matches. In the semi-final against Uzbekistan, considered the strongest in Asia, they won 1-0 and scored relatively few goals.
Coach Byeon said, “In June of last year, we lost 0-3 to Japan. Before this tournament, I imagined a story of meeting Uzbekistan in the semifinals and Japan in the final,” he said. “That became a reality. The final against Japan will be very fierce.”