If it weren’t for Kim Jung-hoon (Jeonbuk Hyundai), it would have been ‘big trouble’ indeed.
Hwang Sun-hong’s South Korea U-23 team defeated China U-23 2-0 behind back-to-back goals from Lee Young-joon in the second match of Group B of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup and the final Asian qualifying tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympics at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Monday. South Korea has now won two straight matches to advance to the quarterfinals. South Korea will face Japan in their final group game on Aug. 22 at 10 p.m.
In terms of objective power, South Korea was the overwhelming favorite. South Korea’s U-23 team has a 12-3-2 record against China’s U-23 team, and is looking to qualify for its 10th consecutive Olympic Games. China, on the other hand, is aiming for its first Olympics in 16 years since 2008. However, China has never gotten past the group stage in this tournament.
The atmosphere leading up to the match was different. South Korea defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 1-0 in the first round. 바카라사이트 Lee Young-joon scored a dramatic goal in stoppage time to secure the win. China, on the other hand, lost to Japan 0-1 in the first round. China had a “numerical advantage” due to a Japanese sending off, but were unable to score a goal. China’s Sohu.com commented, “The second game will decide their fate in the tournament. It’s against South Korea. If China fails to win, they may be eliminated from the group stage,” said a sense of urgency.
Kickoff. It was a surprise.
China came out aggressively and attacked the Korean goal with their ‘long striker’ Abdouwerri. They had five shots on goal in the first 25 minutes of the game. It was Kim Jong-hoon who kept his focus in each crisis.
The Korean goalkeeper made back-to-back saves from Abdouwerri in the 15th minute and Xu Weneng in the 24th minute. In the 12th minute of the second half, Kim was hit by Sheh Won-Neng while blocking an attack. Luckily, Kim shook off the pain and got up. However, he appeared to have injured his finger in the process. The medical staff came in and taped his finger.
Kim played through the injury. In the 23rd minute of the second half, a dizzying mistake in the defense line gave South Korea a chance to shoot on goal. 사설 토토사이트 Once again, Kim Jong-hoon made a huge save to keep Korea alive. China had nine shots on goal on the day. Five were on target. But they didn’t score a single goal. Kim Jung-hoon saved the day for South Korea.