*This content was translated by AI.
Lee Min-sung's uniform number for the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Asian Cup has been confirmed.
According to the Korea Football Association on the 6th, "Ace" Kang Sang-yoon (Jeonbuk Hyundai) was assigned No. 10. Kang Sung-jin (Suwon Samsung) will wear No. 7 and Kim Tae-won (Portimonens, Portugal), "the only European team," will play on the Asian Cup stage.
Lee Kun-hee (Suwon) was then assigned No. 19, Jeong Ji-hoon (Gwangju FC) No. 11, and Kim Yong-hak (Pohang Steelers) No. 17. Kim Dong-jin (Pohang) became No. 8, Shin Min-ha became No. 23, and Cho Hyun-tae (Gangwon FC) became No. 4.
Moon Hyun-ho (Kimcheon Sangmu) will wear No. 1, while Hwang Jae-yoon (Suwon FC) and Hong Sung-min (Pohang) will wear No. 12 and No. 21, respectively, on the Asian Cup stage.
Lee Min-sung, who left for Qatar on the 22nd of last month and entered Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the 2nd after conducting pre-camp training, will play Lebanon on the 10th and Uzbekistan in Group C on the 13th, starting with the match against Iran on the 7th. All games kick off at 8:30 p.m. Korean time.
The tournament, which will involve a total of 16 teams, will be divided into four groups of four teams, and then the first and second places in each group will go to the quarterfinals tournament to determine the winning team. However, it is not the year when the Olympics are held, so it does not serve as an Olympic qualification.
South Korea won its first championship in the 2020 tournament, but lost in the quarterfinals of two consecutive tournaments in 2022 and 2024 and was eliminated early. In particular, at the 2024 event, which also served as the preliminary round for the 2024 Paris Olympics, it failed to advance to the Olympic finals for the first time in 40 years as it was eliminated after a penalty shootout by Indonesia led by coach Shin Tae-yong at the time.
This national team is also participating in the Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games in September this year. According to the Korea Football Association, head coach Lee Min-sung said, "The Asian Cup does not have an Olympic ticket, but we will achieve good results so that the good trend continues to the Asian Games." It would be nice to do more than that, but I think we need some results because it's a competition before the Asian Games.
- Goalkeepers: Moon Hyun-ho (Kimcheon Sangmu), Hong Seong-min (Pohang Steelers), Hwang Jae-yoon (Suwon FC)
- Defenders: Kang Min-joon (Pohang Steelers), Kim Do-hyun, Shin Min-ha, Cho Hyun-tae (Gangwon FC), Bae Hyun-seo (FC Seoul), Lee Kun-hee, Jang Seok-hwan (Suwon Samsung), Lee Hyun-yong (Suwon FC), and Park Jun-seo (Hwaseong FC)
- Midfielders: Kim Yong-hak, Kim Dong-jin (Pohang Steelers), Kang Sang-yoon (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Kim Han-seo (Yongin FC), Lee Chan-wook (Kim Cheon Sang-mu)
- Strikers: Kim Tae-won (Portimonense, Portugal), Kang Sung-jin (Suwon Samsung), Baek Ga-on (Busan I'Park), Jung Seung-bae (Suwon FC), Jung Jae-sang (Daegu FC), Jung Ji-hoon (Gwangju FC)
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*This content was translated by AI.
