"There is no Japan." The 'first Korea-Japan match of the year' that must be caught despite early confirmation of the quarterfinals at the U-20 Asian Cup
"There is no Japan." The 'first Korea-Japan match of the year' that must be caught despite early confirmation of the quarterfinals at the U-20 Asian Cup
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We cannot afford to settle down early on to advance to the quarterfinals. The first Korea-Japan match in 2025 is a battle where the pride of Korean soccer is at stake. Only when Korea defeats Japan, a strong team that can meet again in the tournament, can it give a green light to its first win in 13 years.
South Korea's U-20 national soccer team, led by head coach Lee Chang-won, will play the third Group D match against Japan at the 2025 U-20 Asian Cup at the first pitch of the youth soccer training base in Shenzhen, China, on the 20th (Korea time). The national team won the first group match against Syria 2-1 on the 14th, and also secured a 4-1 victory in the second match against Thailand on the 17th. It secured a berth to the quarterfinals early with six points after winning two games. In Group D, South Korea leads the team, while Japan, which beat Thailand and draws with Syria, ranks second with four points. Syria (1 point) and Thailand (0 point) are third to fourth, respectively. In the end, as expected, it has narrowed down to a battle between South Korea and Japan for the top spot in the group. If the national team is tied in the match against Japan, it will advance to the quarterfinals as No. 1 in the group, but if it loses, it can advance to the quarterfinals as No. 2 in the group.
The top-ranked team in Group D will play the second-ranked team in Group C, while the second-ranked team in Group D will play the top-ranked team in Group C in the quarterfinals. Currently, Iran (score point 6) and Uzbekistan (score point 6). Iran and Uzbekistan will also determine the top-ranked team in their group through a showdown in the final match just like the one between Korea and Japan. However, the match between Iran and Uzbekistan will take place on the 19th, a day before the match between Korea and Japan. This means that the team will start after confirming the final ranking in Group C. It can be said that Lee Chang-won had the right to choose an opponent that he wants to avoid, but the situation is different if the opponent is Japan. If Korea loses to Japan, it will inevitably face criticism from soccer fans. This will likely have a significant impact on the mood of the Korean team, which is aiming to win the U-20 Asian Cup for the first time in 13 years since the 2012 event. One might ask, "What does the difference between the top and second place in the group when Korea has already advanced to the quarterfinals?" However, the match between Korea and Japan is a very meaningful rivalry game.
The Korean national team by age group recently met Japan at the Asian Games and has achieved consecutive victories. The U-23 team beat Japan 1-0 in the group stage of the Asian Cup by age group held in Qatar in April last year. In the final of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held in October 2023, Jung Woo-young (Unyon Berlin) and Cho Young-wook (Seoul) beat Japan 2-1 with consecutive goals to build the gold medal for the third consecutive tournament. At the U-20 level, Oh Se-hoon (Machida Zelvia) won the round of 16 at the U-20 World Cup held in Poland in June 2019 by 1-0 to advance to the final of the FIFA event for the first time in Korean soccer history. The team has met Japan 18 times in the U-20 Asian Cup (past U-19 Championship) finals, and has gained the upper hand with 13 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses.
It also has painful memories. Korea, which won its 12th U-20 Championship held in the United Arab Emirates in 2012, aimed to win back-to-back championships in Myanmar in 2014. Korea, led by Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) and Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham), cruised to the second round by scoring four points. Korea is in an advantageous position to advance to the quarterfinals even if it ties with Japan, which it met in the final group match. However, Korea lost 1-2, dedicating its goal to Takumi Minamino (AS Monaco). At the same time, China's dramatic equalizer resulted in a 1-1 draw with Vietnam, leading the team to lose second place and fall to third place, ultimately being eliminated early. It has been about 10 years and four months since the day that Korea and Japan will meet at the U-20 Asian Cup.
Coach Lee is now looking beyond the Korea-Japan match to watch the tournament. Two minutes into extra time in the second half when his team took a 4-1 lead against Thailand, he instructed center back Shin Min-ha (Gangwon) to "launder his credit card" to delay time when throwing a throw-in. Shin, who had received one yellow card warning in the first match, will now sit out the match between Korea and Japan due to cumulative warning disciplinary action. Shin is a key resource that started as left center back of three-back for two consecutive games. 온라인바카라 He thus plans to focus on single-round tournaments even if he takes some risks. It would be even better if Shin wins the match between Korea and Japan, where he was forced to take a break, but if he fails to play due to defense problems, he could end up as a self-defense force.