Japan Must be Defeated to Advance to the Quarterfinals

Japan Must be Defeated to Advance to the Quarterfinals as the No. 1 Player in the Group... Increase the Odds of Going to Paris

The Korean U-23 national soccer team won two games against Korea and Japan at 10 p.m. on the 22nd... Must win to avoid host country Qatar.

Coach Hwang Sun-hong says, "Japan's organizational strength is the best among the participating countries." 파워볼사이트 추천

In order to increase the odds of advancing to the finals of the Paris Olympics, we must defeat our ‘fateful rival,’ Japan.

This is because they must advance to the quarterfinals as first place in their group to avoid the ‘host country’ Qatar.

The U-23 national team led by coach Hwang Sun-hong will play the third match of Group B of the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup against Japan at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar, at 10 p.m. on the 22nd.

Korea defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 1-0 in the first match of the group stage and China 2-0 in the second match.

Korea, with 2 consecutive wins and 6 points (goal difference +3), secured at least 2nd place in the group and confirmed advancement to the quarterfinals.

Japan, which secured 6 points (goal difference +3) with two consecutive wins in the group stage, is ranked first in the group in terms of fair play score.

However, even with the early confirmation of the quarterfinals, we cannot feel at ease.

The opponent for the quarterfinals will be determined based on the final rankings in the group stage.

If Korea loses to Japan and takes second place in the group, they will have to face the 'host country' Qatar, which has confirmed first place in Group A.

This tournament also serves as the final qualifier for men's soccer for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Up to 3rd place will be given a ticket to the Olympic finals, and the 4th place team will have to play a playoff against Guinea, the 4th place team in the African qualifiers.

This means that in order to advance to the Olympic finals, you must reach at least the semifinals.

It is bound to be a burden to meet Qatar, the favorite, in the quarterfinals, the first stage of the tournament, which is played as a single match.

Japan, which must be overcome to increase the odds of going to Paris, is not an easy opponent.

Two years ago, Korea faced Japan in the quarterfinals of this tournament and suffered a humiliating 0-3 defeat.

It is also a painful memory for Coach Hwang Sun-hong, who led the team at the time.

Coach Hwang also cautioned, “Japan is a team that has been strengthening its organizational strength for a long time, so looking at the form of its organizational strength, it is considered to be at the ‘top’ among the participating countries in this tournament.”

Another problem is that variables have arisen in the central defense ahead of the game against Japan.

Center back Seo Myung-gwan (Bucheon) withdrew from the field due to a hamstring injury during the game against China on the 20th, and another center back Byun Jun-su (Gwangju) was also unable to play against Japan due to accumulated warnings.

The only legitimate center back who can be used in the game against Japan is Lee Jae-won (Cheonan), who did not play in the first and second games.

Coach Hwang said, “It is clear that it is a difficult situation,” and “We will closely review it with the coaches and make a decision.”