On March 16, the U20 Asian Cup semifinal match went out in the early hours of Beijing time. After a 120-minute battle, the South Korean U20 men's soccer team shook hands with hosts Uzbekistan, with the score set at 0-0. However, in the ensuing penalty kicks, the South Korean team lost 3-4, failing to advance to the final stage.
The result couldn't help but leave people dumbfounded that Seoul Sports, a leading Korean media outlet, had transferred the pain of the South Korean team missing out on the final to the Chinese U20 men's soccer team. Looking back, Korea managed to beat China in the quarterfinals with a 3-1 overtime comeback to make it to the quarterfinals.
However, in that match, the Korean players were physically exhausted, and the captain, Lee Seung-won, was unfortunately injured. The Korean media indignantly pointed out: "The main reason why the Korean team did not qualify for the final was the absence of Lee Seung-won, the main midfielder and captain of the team. In the match against China, Lee Seung-won was injured due to a rough foul by the opponent and was replaced in the first half. In the first two games of the group stage, Lee Seung-won was the soul of the team as the starting passer with high accuracy. His absence undoubtedly weakened the strength of the Korean team. This time, facing Uzbekistan, Lee Seung-won's absence makes the Korean team's pass scheduling inaccurate, and the sharpness of the offense is greatly reduced." From the words of the Korean media, it is not difficult to detect that they are quite critical of the Chinese team. According to statistics, in the battle between China and South Korea, the Chinese team committed 22 fouls, and the Korean team committed 15 fouls. Both sides in the fierce confrontation, many players were injured, and some even retired as a result. The Korean media blamed the Chinese team for the pain of the team's loss, and this simple attribution seems to be too far-fetched.
