South Korea defeated hosts People’s Republic of China to advance to the semifinals of the Asian Games men’s soccer quarterfinals held at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou on Sunday (October 1) evening.
Coach Hwang Sun-hong replaced as many as seven players from the starting lineup that played in the round of 16 four days ago. Key players Jung Woo-young and Lee Kang-in waited on the bench, while Song Min-gyu and Ko Young-jun were included in the offensive line.
Korea seemed embarrassed by the home crowd’s one-sided cheering atmosphere and China’s rough management in the early stages of the game, and was unable to create scoring opportunities.
The frustrating flow of the game changed in the 18th minute of the first half, at the edge of the penalty area. Hong Hyun-seokKorea took the lead as this left-footed free kick was sucked into the corner of the goal.
In the 35th minute of the first half, Cho Young-wook’s low cross from the right was penetrated to the other side. Song Min-gyucalmly scored the ball in front of the goal to make it 2-0.
Korea, which pushed China even harder in the second half, strengthened its attack by substituting Lee Kang-in, Eom Won-sang, and Jung Woo-young at the same time in the 18th minute of the second half, but was unable to break through as it was blocked by China’s dense defense and rough tackling.
At the end of the game, when there was a lull, fullback Park Gyu-hyun was replaced by Seol Young-woo after getting injured during a battle with the opposing striker, but Korea played comfortably until the end and eventually won 2-0.
As a result, Korea will play the semifinals on Wednesday evening against Uzbekistan, which defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the quarterfinals held earlier at the same venue.
Korea lineup for the quarterfinals (4-4-2)
Gwang-yeon Lee – Gyu-hyeon Park, Jin-seop Park, Han-beom Lee, Jae-won Hwang – Min-gyu Song, Hyun-seok Hong, Seung-ho Baek, Jae-jun Ahn – Young-jun Go, Young-wook Cho
2023-10-01 13:55:00
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