“The competition is not over yet. I said let’s raise our heads because we have the next game left.” Lee Seung-won (Gangwon), captain of the Korean national under-20 (U-20) soccer team, said after losing 1-2 in the FIFA U-20 World Cup semi-final against Italy held at La Plata Stadium in Argentina on the 9th. I lost the game today, so the atmosphere was very low. Some players showed tears, but it’s not over yet.” Although we failed to advance to the final, we still have matches for the 3rd and 4th places, so we should work hard and do our best until the end.스포츠토토
National team striker Lee Yeong-joon (Kimcheon) also said, “The 3rd and 4th place matches are the last matches played by the current members. I want to play a game with no regrets. I will show everything I can,” he said. Following the 2019 tournament, which was the runner-up in the U-20 World Cup history, Korea, which aimed to advance to the final twice in a row, will play against Israel at 2:30 a.m. on the 12th for third and fourth place. Israel lost 0-1 in the semi-final against Uruguay on the 9th.
In the 14th minute of the first half of the day, Korea gave up the opening goal to Italian goal getter Cesare Casaday (Reading). Casaday firmly maintained the leading scorer with his 7th goal in the tournament. Korea equalized 1-1 with a penalty kick goal in the 23rd minute of the first half. Lee Seung-won succeeded in the penalty kick that Bae Jun-ho (Daejeon) got inside the opponent’s penalty box. With this goal, Lee Seung-won recorded his 6th attack point (2 goals and 4 assists) in this tournament. In the 2019 tournament, he scored 2 goals and 4 assists and stood shoulder to shoulder with Lee Kang-in (Mallorca), who received the Golden Ball for the MVP award. Korea gave up a free kick goal to Simone Papundi (Udinese) in the 41st minute of the second half and could not catch up.
On this day, about 1,000 soccer fans cheered on the street at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. Fans began to gather in the square from 5:00 a.m., an hour before the start of the game. Fans chanted “Republic of Korea” until the final whistle blew, cheering the Taegeuk warriors who were fighting their way in Argentina on the other side of the globe.
After the match against Italy, coach Kim Eun-joong said, “I want to applaud the players who gave their all on the field.” I will prepare well so that I can finish well.”
Korea’s 3rd and 4th place opponent, Israel, is the protagonist of this tournament. In the U-20 World Cup, where he participated for the first time, he caused a surprise by reaching the semifinals. Israel, which passed Group C in the group stage in second place (1 win, 1 draw, 1 loss), defeated Uzbekistan 1-0 in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, they surprised the world football world by beating Brazil 3-2 after extra time. Brazil is a team that has reached the finals of the U-20 World Cup 9 times, winning 5 championships and 4 runners-up. Israel earned the right to participate in the tournament after finishing runners-up in the UEFA U-19 Championship last year. In the semifinals of the U-19 Championship, they also defeated France.
Israel beat all the Asian teams it faced in this tournament. In the third match of the group stage against Japan, they won 2-1 come-from-behind despite being outnumbered with one player sent off. After defeating Uzbekistan in the round of 16, Israel faced South Korea for the third time in Asia.
Israel scored 8 goals and conceded 7 goals in 6 matches in this tournament until the semifinals. All eight goals were scored in the second half. Dor Turgeman (Maccabi Tel-Aviv) and Anan Kalyli (Maccabi Haifa), who scored two goals each, are the targets to be wary of. Both players are strikers.
Italy, who advanced to the final for the first time in the U-20 World Cup, will compete for the championship with Uruguay at 6 am on the 12th. Uruguay has reached the final twice so far, but ended up as runner-up in both.