Korea is always a tough opponent Korea and a match to decide the winner of the group of fate

South Korea's under-23 (U-23) national soccer team, led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong, beat China 2-0 when Lee Young-joon scored multiple goals in the second Group B match of the "2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup" held at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar at 10 p.m. on the 19th (Korea time).

Lee Young-joon, who scored the finishing goal in extra time in the first match with the UAE, scored three goals in two matches to lead Korea to the quarterfinals. If it were not for goalkeeper Kim Jung-hoon's defense, there would be no victory. The two players were the key players in the victory.

Rival Japan is also on a roll. Japan beat the UAE, 2-0, and has won two consecutive games alongside Korea. Japan struggled with a 1-0 win over China, but won the match by switching seven key players to play at the match against the UAE.

Now, Korea and Japan, which have confirmed their advance to the quarterfinals, will have a match against Korea and Japan on Tuesday to take the lead in the group match. Korea has shown signs of instability in defense against China several times. Signing Kwan, the center back in the match against China, collapsed due to a hamstring injury. Even Byun Joon-soo, another central defender, was given extra time warning. Korea, which already has unstable defense, should play without a professional center back in the match against Korea and Japan.

Japanese media are also wary of Korea. "Japan defeated the UAE, 2-0 through an unconventional tactic of changing seven players," Nikkan Sports said. "Players who started in the bench against China started well."

As for Korea, he said, "A match of fate has been decided for rival Korea to rank No. 1 in the group. Korea is always a tough opponent. Korea and Japan have two wins, both goal difference and bone marrow. We will see who is stronger in a head-to-head match."

Japan also has weaknesses. Mao Hosoya (Kashiwa Reysol), who is the top scorer with nine goals in his team, has yet to score a goal in the tournament. Hosoya also played in the match against the UAE as a substitute. "Hosoya had no goal in nine consecutive official matches. He did not have a good shot in front of the opponent team's goalpost even in the match against the UAE. It is also a headache to see how the coach will recruit him."

BY: 스포츠토토핫