‘We had good ‘jung keum ma’ (unbreakable heart), but lack of experience was disappointing’
Kim Eun-joong’s South Korea Under-20 team drew 2-2 with Honduras in their second Group F match of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023 at the Malvinas Stadium in Mendoza, Argentina, on 25 June (06:00 GMT).
South Korea, who avoided defeat, added a point to their tally and remain second in the group. France’s loss to The Gambia sealed third place for South Korea as they had the first two points. A win against the Gambia in their final match will see them through to the round of 16.
However, they will be without Kim Jun-hong and Choi Seok-hyun for their next game. Kim Jun-hong was cautioned for handling a late goal kick in second-half stoppage time, making him unavailable for Game 3. Choi Seok-hyun was sent off in the 34th minute of the second half and again in extra time.
Both players had poor judgement. Choi’s first caution was avoidable. He went up to the halfway line a little too high and contested a header. You could see that he was trying to stop his opponent with force, but it wasn’t a foul that warranted a caution.
Kim Jun-hong also had no reason to stall. Maybe he was trying to break the Honduran flow, or maybe he just couldn’t find a place to deliver the kick. But South Korea didn’t need to stall when they needed a goal.
The two weren’t the only ones who didn’t manage their cards, as flanker Park Chang-woo was also in danger of being sent off for a rough challenge after receiving a yellow card in the 41st minute. When the referee did not issue a further warning, the Honduran players protested. Park Chang-woo was replaced by Cho Young-kwang in the eighth minute of the second half, ending the game early. However, his replacement was also cautioned just seven minutes into the game.메이저사이트
This was a result of the young players’ urgency after going down early. The coaching staff’s role will be crucial in ensuring that their inexperience doesn’t show in the remaining matches.
Meanwhile, Korea was down 0-2 until the last five minutes of the game, but they never gave up. Back-to-back goals from Kim Yong-hak and Park Seung-ho in the 13th and 17th minutes of the second half prevented the defeat.