Hangzhou Asian Games Football Buzz: National U23s thrash South Korea U23s at home
The last 8 thriller saw the National Football League U23s host South Korea U23s, with the match taking place on Sunday (1). Although it is only a last eight match, the atmosphere on the pitch is more intense than any previous Asian Games soccer tournament. More than 50,000 spectators were expected to turn up to add to the electric atmosphere of the match. However, in a one-sided situation, the national soccer team lost 0-2 to South Korea, unfortunately stopping at the last eight.
The match that has been dubbed the "China-Korea War" has attracted a lot of attention. Although it is not a gold medal match, South Korea is the national soccer team's arch rival, and a loss on the national soccer team's home field on National Day would certainly be a blow. The South Korean team has many star players and their biggest goal is undoubtedly to win a third consecutive title and realize the exemption of at least 18 months of compulsory military service. China and South Korea always generate buzz in all kinds of matches, and this last eight match is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Asian Games.
Four hours before the match, the journalists left the Asian Games Village and took a shuttle bus to the Huanglong Sports Center stadium. The Chinese and South Korean journalists piled into a bus together and left early. Upon arriving at the stadium, there was once again a long line of media. There were 90 photo positions in the venue and the journalists arrived two and a half hours early and managed to register more than 50 people.
Before the match, the Chinese and South Korean media made a lot of reports on the match. South Korean media not only in the title of the article will be the national football team called "kung fu soccer", mentioning the two sides last time they met the injury situation, but also pointed out that although South Korea has the advantage of the cards, but in the face of the home momentum of the national football team and the challenge of the "no virtual reality", will still face difficulties. The domestic media believe that the national football team entered the game with a strong home momentum. Domestic media believe that the national soccer team has achieved its goal of reaching the last eight, and that South Korea's "mountain" is just an attempt to play a game. Sina Sports wrote: "Meet the brave victory".
An hour and a half before the match, the starting lineups of both sides were announced. With Gao Tianyi and Jiang Shenglong suspended, Dai Weijun continued in goal and Han Jiaqi started. The starters also included Liu Yang, Zhu Chenjie, Huang Jiahui, Wang Zhenao, Abraham, Wang Haijian, Tao Qianglong, Zhang Wei and Tan Long.
For South Korea, Paris Saint-Germain winger Lee Gang-in came on as a substitute, while Bundesliga side Stuttgart's Jung Woo-young didn't start. The most "famous" of the eleven was Barcelona youth trainee Paik Seung-ho, who scored at last year's World Cup in Qatar, and also captained the side. The rest of the starters include Lee Kwang-won, Hwang, Park, Hong, Cho Yong-wook, Ko Young, Lee Han-pang, Song Min-kyu, Ahn Jae-jun and Park.
The match started with both sides looking cautious. South Korea gained more possession of the ball, and in the 6th minute, a mistake at the back of the net gave Gao Ying a chance to shoot, but the ball was deflected high; Cho Yong-wook's header hit the post. South Korea's offense was concentrated on the left side of the field, with a number of quick breaks through the bottom line of the National Football League defenders. The ball eventually landed at the feet of Cho Yong-wook at the top of the penalty area, but his shot was parried out by Han Jiaqi.
After 18 minutes, South Korea was awarded a penalty kick on the right side of the top of the penalty area and Hong Hyun-seok hit the ball straight at the goal, bending it into the near post to give South Korea a 1-0 lead. South Korea almost scored again in the 22nd minute, but Han Jiaqi nearly parried the opponents' shot away. In the 24th minute, the national soccer team entered the vicinity of the opponent's penalty area for the first time and got a corner kick, but failed to convert it into an effective attack. In the 30th minute, the national soccer team got a shot on goal when Dai Weijun dipped a shot from the top of the box.
In the 35th minute, South Korea scored again, Cao Yongxu right cross, the ball through the two defenders of the national football team, another defender in front of the goal "big leakage", goalkeeper Han Jiaqi also failed to touch the ball. As a result, Song Min-gyu, who was at the end of the post, crashed in front of the goal, extending the score to 2-0. Before half-time, the national soccer team replaced Zhu Chenjie, the captain who was injured and suspended, and replaced He Yupeng. Before half-time, a counter-attack by the national soccer team put the South Korean team in confusion, and a center post bounced out, becoming the closest the national soccer team came to scoring a goal in the first half.
In the second half, things didn't change much. Although South Korea replaced Jung Yo-young, Lee Gang-in and Yim Sang-won in the 63rd minute, they didn't particularly apply pressure with a two-goal lead, and the national soccer team's counterattacks were lackluster. With the game stalemated, the crowd began to leave one by one around the 70th minute. In the 74th minute, Han Jiaqi pounced on the fastest shot in the box from Jung Uyoung. In the 84th minute, the national soccer team finally got their first shot on goal in the second half, but it was blocked. In stoppage time, Lee Gang-in's penalty kick from the right corner shot straight at too solid an angle, and the two teams did not score again. In the end, South Korea advanced to the quarterfinals with a 2-0 victory and will compete with Uzbekistan for a spot in the final.
