The lack of experience of the Korean U22 national team was clearly revealed. It was disappointing to concede the first goal, but the scene where an additional goal was conceded due to an absurd mistake was bound to be filled with futility.
The national team led by coach Hwang Seon-hong lost 0 to 2 against Qatar in the first match of Group B of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Asian Cup preliminary round held at the main stadium of Changwon Football Center in Gyeongnam at 8 p.m. on the 6th. After giving up the first goal to Ahmed Allawi in the 38th minute of the first half, they allowed an additional goal to Mansour Al-Abdullah in the 21st minute of the second half.
In this tournament, a total of 16 teams will advance to the finals, including the 1st place team from the 11 preliminary groups, the top 4 teams from the 2nd place groups, and Qatar, the host country of the finals. Korea was in Group B with Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, and Myanmar in the preliminaries of this tournament.
Qatar, the opponent on this day, is the host country of the finals, so the match result does not affect the rankings, so it is considered a friendly match. However, this is a game where there is a need to check the team’s strength as there is a possibility that they will meet in the finals.
The finals of the competition will be held in April next year, serving as the final Asian qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The top three teams will advance directly to the Olympic finals, and the fourth-place team will play a playoff against the fourth-place team from the African qualifiers for a spot in the Olympics.
Heo Yul (Gwangju FC) was at the forefront of the attack, while Uhm Uhm-seong (Gwangju FC) and Jeon Byeong-gwan (Daejeon Hana Citizen) took charge of the flanks. Oh Jae-hyuk (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Kang Hyun-mook (Gimcheon Sangmu), and Lee Jin-yong (Daegu FC) coordinated the game in the midfield, while Min Kyung-hyeon (Incheon United), Jo Wi-je (Busan I-Park), Jo Seong-kwon (Gimpo FC), and Lee Tae-seok (FC Seoul) This four-back defense was formed. The goal was guarded by Baek Jong-beom (FC Seoul).
Overseas players Hyun-joo Lee (Bayern Munich), Jeong Sang-bin (Minnesota), and Hyuk-gyu Kwon (Celtic) all started the game on the bench. Among them, only Lee Hyeon-joo stepped on the field in the 15th minute of the second half and worked together.
At the beginning of the game, Korea seemed to be leading the game. In particular, Jeon Byeong-gwan created several scoring opportunities with sharp shooting, threatening Qatar’s goal.
Jeon Byeong-gwan took the lead with his first shot after receiving Lee Tae-seok’s cross in the 12th minute of the first half. In the 14th minute, he touched Heo Yul’s pass in front of the goal, but unfortunately missed the goal.
In the 25th minute of the first half, solid team play was shown. After exchanging one-two passes in the half space, they rushed to the goal, and Heo Yul received the pass and attempted a shot. However, the first goal was canceled out due to a save by the opposing goalkeeper.
Korea, which was leading the attack, allowed just one gap in the 38th minute of the first half, which led to a goal conceded. Ahmed Allawi, who launched a counterattack, scored the first goal by cutting into Korea’s net with a calm shot. In the end, Korea ended the first half trailing 0 to 1.
At the start of the second half, Korea made a change by replacing Kang Hyeon-mook and Jeon Byeong-gwan and replacing them with Baek Sang-hoon (FC Seoul) and Hong Yun-sang (Pohang Steelers). Qatar entered the second half without a replacement.토토사이트
Qatar continued the good atmosphere at the end of the first half into the early part of the second half. Allawi, who scored the first goal, aimed at the left corner of the goal with a sharp mid-range shot in the 7th minute of the second half, but goalkeeper Baek Jong-beom flew out and blocked it. In the 10th minute, Mansour Al-Abdullah threatened Korea’s goal with a header, but missed.
As the frustrating trend continued, coach Hwang Seon-hong came up with a game-changing strategy. In the 15th minute of the second half, overseas player Lee Hyeon-joo was brought in instead of Lee Jin-yong to try to turn the atmosphere around.
However, an absurd mistake in the 21st minute of the second half poured cold water into the atmosphere. Al Abdullah headed the throw-in in front of the goal, but the defender and even the goalkeeper were unable to handle it and let it go into the goal.
The gap quickly increased to 2 points, and the will to chase was lost. In the end, Korea suffered defeat without being able to make up even a single point until the end of the game.