“Korea will establish Asian pride.”
Ahead of the 3rd and 4th place match, the last match of the 2023 FIFA Under 20 (U-20) World Cup, coach Kim Eun-joong strengthened his will to win, saying he would establish “Asian pride” against Israel, the European ambush.스포츠토토
Coach Kim, who met with reporters in La Plata, Argentina on the 10th, the day before the 3rd and 4th place match against Israel, said, “Israel is a team that finished runner-up in the European U-19 Championship, and the players in each position did well. It is a team that has the unique physicality of Europe.”
The Korean under-20 national team will play against Israel at 2:30 a.m. on the 12th, Korea time. After advancing to the semifinals of the U-20 World Cup for the second consecutive time and losing 1-2 to Italy in the semifinals, Kim Eun-joong aims for the third place in the tournament with ‘the beauty of the end’ against Israel. Israel is the first team to participate in the U-20 World Cup finals and cause a ‘surprise’. After defeating Japan 2-1 in the final match of the group stage and passing through the group stage in second place in Group C, they drew attention by defeating Uzbekistan in the round of 16 and Brazil, the favorite for the championship, in the round of 16. In the semifinals, they lost to Uruguay 0-1 and faced Korea for third place.
Coach Kim said, “Israel is a team with potential. It was against Israel that Japan showed the best performance during the group stage, and at that time, even after one player was sent off, Israel did well from then on and won a come-from-behind victory.” He said, “Striker number 9 (Dor Thurgemann) is a player with individual abilities,” and pointed out as a target to be wary of.
Coach Kim said, “Two Asian teams (Japan and Uzbekistan) lost to Israel, and even we can’t do that.” Coach Kim said, “I have to finish well, so I will do my best without rotation,” and said, “I don’t know how 1 year and 6 months have passed since I took office.” He said, “The time with my peers is the most fun. Even if you go to the Olympic team, there is no such fun because the ages are mixed. It was like that when I think about my days as a player,” he said, hoping to finish with victory.