Although he failed to advance to the finals of the U20 World Cup for the second time in a row, Kim Eun-joong’s challenge is not yet over.안전놀이터
The U20 Korean national team, led by coach Kim Eun-joong, will play a match against Israel in the 2023 tournament at La Plata Stadium in Argentina at 2:30 am (Korean time) on the 12th.
If Korea wins this game, it will be the best performance after the runner-up in the 2019 Polish tournament. This is the third time Korea has reached the semifinals of this tournament. In addition to the Polish tournament in 2019, it reached the semifinals in the 1983 Mexican tournament. At that time, Korea lost 1-2 to Brazil in the semifinals and then lost 1-2 to Poland in the third and fourth place matches, placing in the final 4th place.
This 3rd and 4th place match is an opportunity to soothe the disappointment of failing to make it to the finals. Korean men’s football has yet to win the 3rd and 4th place matches organized by the International Football Federation (FIFA). The adult national team lost 2-3 in the 3rd and 4th place matches against Turkey in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, which made the semifinals, and finished in 4th place.
Israel, who lost to Uruguay 0-1 and became South Korea’s opponent, is a sensational team in this tournament. Persistence and back-heartedness stand out. After finishing runner-up in the European qualifiers, they advanced to the finals for the first time in their history. In addition to this, in the 3rd match against Japan and Uzbekistan in the round of 16, where 10 players played, they both scored the winning goal in the second half extra time and went on a winning streak.
Israel is showing a strong side in this tournament, especially against the Asian team. Uzbekistan, defeated by Israel in the semifinals, defeated Korea in a penalty shoot-out at the U20 Asian Cup last March and went on to win the final, while Japan advanced to the semifinals alongside Korea to qualify for the finals.
Israel, currently belonging to the European Football Federation (UEFA), played seven U20 national team matches against Korea until the early 1970s, when it belonged to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in the past.
In this tournament, there are relatively gaps in the defense, scoring 8 goals and conceding 7 goals in 6 games until the semifinals. Dor Tugman (2 goals, 1 assist) and Anan Kalyli (2 goals) are on the alert. South Korea scored 9 goals and lost 7 goals until the semifinals, similar to Israel.