At 5:00 a.m. in Beijing, the dawn of May 23 reflected a fierce U20 World Cup Group F first round match. Asian powerhouse South Korea U20 boys, runners-up at the last World Youth Championship, got their campaign off to a good start with a thrilling 2-1 win over European rivals France U20 boys.
The game turned in the 22nd minute, South Korea's "Golden Phoenix" Kim Yong-hak cleverly slotted in a counterattack, and Lee Seung-won received the ball and calmly pushed the shot, a beautiful long-distance shot through the French defense, South Korea first took the lead.
However, less than an hour later, in the 64th minute, South Korea struck again when Lee Seung-won fired a set-piece from the left, and Lee Young-joon leapt up to grab a header to extend the lead to 2-0, as if crowning the victory.
The drama unfolded in the 70th minute when South Korean goalkeeper Kim Da was unlucky to receive a yellow card during a save and France's Efiklé was awarded a penalty kick, which was converted by Fogenius to give France a goal back.
As the final whistle blew, France failed to turn the game around again, and South Korea had the last laugh with a score of 2-1. According to the statistics, although the South Korean team's possession rate was only 23%, their offensive efficiency was amazing: 8 shots, 5 shots on goal, two goals scored; while the French team, although the number of shots on goal was as high as 23, 6 shots on goal, but only scored by a penalty kick.
Looking back at the U20 Asian Cup in early March this year, the South Korean U20 men's soccer team met the Chinese U20 men's soccer team in the quarterfinals. At that time, Chinese player Mutalifu was the first to break the deadlock, and China was once ahead. It wasn't until the 62nd minute that Korea equalized with a controversial penalty kick. In overtime, Korea capitalized on the physical exhaustion of the Chinese players and scored two goals to advance.
Two months have passed quickly, and while South Korea has already stood on the stage of the World Youth Championships to compete with the world's top teams, China's national youth team is still warming up on the field of play in Europe. The Chinese national youth team has been separated from the World Youth Championships for 18 years, a regret that only time can heal.
