Next up, Ecuador.

The South Korea Under-20 National Team is facing Gambia in the final Group C match of the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup Argentina on Sept. 29 at the Mendoza Stadium in Mendoza, Argentina. South Korea ended the first half 0-0. The other two teams, Honduras and France, ended the half at 1-1.

South Korea advanced to the round of 16 early. Kim Eun-joong-ho’s side have won one and drawn one of their previous two matches (4 points). The tournament will feature the top 12 teams from each of the first through second place finishes in Groups A through F, as well as the top four teams from the third place finish in each group. South Korea has secured at least a fourth-place finish among the six nations currently in third place in the group. South Korea has advanced to the Round of 16 in the last three tournaments in a row. 스포츠토토

The final game was a ranking match. Prior to this game, Gambia (6 points) was ranked first and South Korea was ranked second. If South Korea wins the final game, they will advance to the round of 16 as the group winner, in which case they will face Group E runner-up Uruguay. If they draw, they’ll join the tournament as the group’s runner-up. Even if they lose, they could still finish second depending on the outcome of the France-Honduras match. In that case, they’ll face Group B runner-up Ecuador. If they finish third and advance to the round of 16, they will face Brazil, the top seed in Group D.

Kim Eun-joong will take his rotation into the final match. He changed seven positions compared to the second game against Honduras on the 26th. Lee Young-joon (Gimcheon Commerce), Lee Seung-won (Gangwon FC), Kang Sung-jin (FC Seoul), and Kim Ji-soo (Seongnam FC) all made changes. The front line of the 4-2-3-1 formation was once again started by Lee Young-joon. Lee Ji-han (Freiburg), Lee Seung-won, and Kang Sung-jin started in the second line. Park Hyun-bin (Incheon United) and Lee Chan-wook (Gyeongnam FC) partnered in the defensive midfield. In the back four were Choi Ye-hoon (Busan I-Park), Hwang In-taek (Seoul Eland), Kim Ji-soo (Seoul), and Cho Young-kwang (Seoul). Moon Hyun-ho (Chungnam Asan) was in goal.

The Gambia also came out with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Adama Bojang led the attack. Mansour Mbiye, Bailo Ba, and Lamine Marong all provided support behind him. Muhammed Jobe and Mamoudou Bajo played as double-bolsters. The defense was manned by Saini Sanyang, Alagie Sainé, Dembo Saidikane Bakari Zawara. The goalkeeper’s gloves were worn by Pa Eboue Dampa.

The match started. Neither team was in a hurry. It was an early exploratory game. South Korea was the first to strike. In the 11th minute, Kang Sung-jin shook her opponent from the right side and fired a powerful shot. However, Kang’s shot went just wide of the goal. By the 20th minute, South Korea had 43% of the ball and Zambia 49%. The contested situation was at 8%. It was tense. Zambia increased the intensity of their offense in the 22nd minute after Bozang’s header. Moon Hyun-ho made the save to keep South Korea in the game. Zambia took advantage. They used their speed to quickly increase their number of attackers. Korea conceded a series of shots. After surviving the crisis, Korea tried to counterattack with a quick counterattack, but no one was able to score. The first half ended 0-0.