(Xinhua) – The South Korea Under-20 Men’s National Team, coached by Kim Eun-joong, finished fourth at the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) U-20 World Cup 2023.
South Korea lost 1-3 to Israel in the third-place match of the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup at the La Plata Stadium in Argentina on Wednesday (June 12). Despite the loss, South Korea finished in the top four for the second straight tournament after finishing as runners-up at the 2019 tournament in Poland.
After conceding an early goal to Israel’s Lan Binyamin in the 19th minute, Korea tied the game 1-1 in the 24th minute on a penalty kick by Lee Seung-won (Gangwon).
With three goals and four assists in the tournament, Lee surpassed the two goals and four assists of the 2019 U-20 World Cup Most Valuable Player Lee Kang-in (Mallorca) in Poland. Notably, Lee’s seven offensive points in the tournament are the most by a South Korean player in a men’s tournament organized by FIFA.
The previous record for the most goals by a South Korean player at a FIFA men’s tournament was four goals by Hwang Ui-jo (FC Seoul) at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. At the time, Hwang had no assists, and while there are several players who have scored three goals in a tournament, none have done so with four assists.
Lee also became the third South Korean male player to score three goals at the U-20 World Cup, joining Shin Yeon-ho in 1983 and Kim Min-woo in 2009.
For women, Ji So-yeon at the U-20 World Cup in 2010 and Yeo Min-ji at the U-17 World Cup the same year have each scored eight goals in a single tournament.
Tied 1-1 with Israel, South Korea conceded a goal in the 31st minute to Omer Senior and another in the 40th minute to Anan Carlisle from a corner kick to finish in fourth place.
Coach Kim Eun-joong went with a 4-1-4-1 formation on the day with Lee Young-joon (Gimcheon) up front.
Bae Jun-ho (Daejeon), Kang Sang-yoon (Jeonbuk), Lee Seung-won, and Lee Ji-han (Freiburg) were used in the second line, with Lee Chan-wook (Gyeongnam) in the center midfield.
Park Chang-woo (Jeonbuk), Choi Seok-hyun (Dankook University), Kim Ji-soo (Seongnam), and Bae Seo-joon (Daejeon) lined up in the back four, while Kim Jun-hong (Gimcheon) started in goal.
South Korea, who lost 1-2 in the semifinals to Italy on Sept. 9 and were relegated to the third-place game, conceded first in the 19th minute.
Israel Hamza Sibli’s cross from the left side of the penalty area was met by Lan Binyamin, who soared through the air and volleyed home a right-footed shot to give South Korea the lead.
South Korea quickly equalized on a penalty kick in the 24th minute.
Bae Joon-ho was fouled by Israel’s Eli Feingold while contesting a cross from Lee Seung-won down the right flank.
Bae Joon-ho also drew a penalty 토토사이트 kick in the quarterfinals against Italy, and Lee Seung-won, who was the kicker at the time, made it 1-1 with a calm right-footed shot.
After finishing the first half at 1-1, Korea went through several dangerous spells in the second half without creating much of anything.
In the 17th minute of the second half, goalkeeper Kim Jun-hong failed to catch the ball on a corner kick, and Choi Seok-hyun was able to collect the loose ball.
In the 25th minute, Senior had a chance to open the scoring, but an offside call denied them. However, Senior finally scored the game-winner in the 31st minute. He headed home a cross from the left by Carlisle with his right foot to give Israel a 2-1 lead.
Israel made it 3-1 in the 40th minute on a corner kick, when Carlisle drove a right-footed shot into the net to make it 3-1, and then went to the corner kick spot and took off his jersey top for a little extra ceremony.
The Korean national team, led by head coach Kim Eun-joong, will return home via Incheon International Airport on Thursday.
