U20 World Cup Group Completion... Lee Chang-ho, Ukraine, Paraguay, Panama, and Group B
U20 World Cup Group Completion... Lee Chang-ho, Ukraine, Paraguay, Panama, and Group B
Blog Article
The U-20 national team, which is aiming for miracles in three consecutive tournaments, has decided on an opponent to meet at the World Cup.
FIFA held a draw for the 2025 Chile U20 World Cup in Santiago, Chile, on the morning of the 30th (Korea time). South Korea's U-20 national team, led by head coach Lee Chang-won, belonged to Group B and will clash with European ambush Ukraine (2 ports), Panama (3 ports) and Paraguay (4 ports).
The national team has recently won the second place (2019), fourth place (2023), and round of 16 (2017) in the three tournaments, so it is assigned as a top seed in the draw, and will be able to start the tournament from an advantageous position.
'Revenge blood clots' Don't let your guard down with Ukraine, Paraguay, Panama
Now, with all the opponents of the World Cup group stage decided, the national team is considered to have been able to form an easy group. In an interview with the Korea Football Association (KFA), Lee said, "I think the most important thing is to prepare well ourselves, rather than which opponent we will meet."
Although it is easy, considerable attention is being paid to the first game against Ukraine, which meets the national team first, amid the inability to miss the leash of carelessness. Her relationship with Ukraine will be traced back to the 2019 World Cup. Under the leadership of then coach Chung Jung-yong (Kim Chun), she overcame competition with Portugal (loss), South Africa (win) and Argentina (win) to advance to the tournament.
Afterwards, they beat their "enemy" Japan 1-0 in the round of 16, and managed to advance to the round of 4 after a penalty shootout match against Senegal in the round of 8. In the round of 4, they also secured a valuable 1-0 victory over Ecuador, making it the first finals (men's soccer) in the history of FIFA-hosted tournaments. However, they allowed Ukraine to come from behind to lose 3-1 in the long-awaited final, forcing them to shed tears in their hearts.
Team Korea will face Paraguay, a traditional South American powerhouse, in the second match against Ukraine, which is a tricky opponent for revenge. FIFA ranking is 48th, which is one step below Korea's A national team, but Korea cannot afford to judge the performance of the national team by age group. Already in the national team under age group of 20, the team is in a tight race with Paraguay having two wins, one draw and two losses in five matches.
At the most recent World Cup competition in 2009, Kim Bo-kyung (Anyang) and Kim Min-woo (Ulsan) scored goals to complete the game 3-0, and they have good memories of advancing to the quarterfinals. Panama, which will meet in the final match after Paraguay, has never faced off in the national team by age. We cannot judge the objective difference in power with Panama that belongs to the three ports yet, but we must win.
In response, coach Lee cautioned, "Paraguay and Panama are countries adjacent to the host country, so they will have an advantage over us in adapting to the region."
The national team has started to cover up the bad points of the Asian Cup
With all the opponents to meet at the World Cup having been decided, the national team is currently working on determining who will stand on the right foot. The team has gathered in Wonju, Gangwon Province, from the 19th to the 22nd to conduct the first convocation training, and will move to Cairo, Egypt, from the 2nd of next month to participate in international friendly matches with Norway and Brazil. Coach Lee has already selected 27 resources and is set to experiment.
The list was joined by Kim Seo-jin (Cheonan), Kim Ho-jin (Yongin University), Bae Hyun-seo (FC Seoul), Cho Hyun-woo (Daejeon), Baek Min-gyu (Incheon), Sungshin (Bucheon), Kim Tae-won (Portimonense), and Jin Tae-ho (Jeonbuk), who showed good performance at the China Asian Cup in February.
In addition, Kim Gyeol (Kimpo), Kim Hyun-min (Busan), Kim Joon-ha, Choi Byung-wook (Jeju), Kim Do-yoon (Suwon FC), and Kang Min-woo (Ulsan), who have shown impressive growth on the K-League stage this season, were also listed.
With such promising resources gathered, the national team seems to need to make up for the weaknesses shown in the last Asian Cup. Although it made it to the semifinals during the tournament, the shortcomings were clearly revealed at every moment. First of all, the offensive tactics did not show flexible work, and frustrating moments were revealed.
He scored 10 goals in a total of five games, but his offense was disappointing with only six goals in four games except for the four goals he scored in the second match against Thailand. Without the performances of Kim Tae-won (4 goals), Yoon Do-young (1 goal, 1 assist), and Sung-shin (2 assists), who are key offensive resources, it was difficult to expect good results in the tournament.
Korea was disappointed in the defense as well. With six goals lost in five matches, the team had only one scoreless match. Notably, it allowed goals in all of its group matches, and was on the verge of being eliminated by allowing two goals lost in the quarterfinal match against Uzbekistan, leading 3-1. Consequently, the team needs to make amends to its weaknesses in offense and defense during the remaining period,
In response, Lee also said, "There are some points that I have decided to improve after the Asian Cup. There will be not many upcoming training sessions, but I will take steps to prepare for the World Cup including the upcoming international friendly match in Egypt. After my schedule in Egypt, I will visit European teams to continue discussions on recruiting players," he vowed. 토토사이트
The Korean team has decided on whom to meet on the world stage. Will they be able to overcome their weaknesses and create a "miracle" for three consecutive tournaments? Attention is focusing on their future moves.