日 "韓당한 who was teased by 19-year-olds" cruel fact-bombing toward Lee Min-sung-ho in the quarterfinals... Japan won three consecutive games without losing a point

*This content was translated by AI.

The Japanese media paid attention to Lee Min-sung, who luckily reached the quarterfinals.

Japan won 2-0 in the final third match of Group B of the '2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Asian Cup' against Qatar at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the morning of the 14th (Korea time).

Japan, which beat Syria (5-0) in the first round and UAE (3-0) in the second round, advanced to the quarterfinals as No. 1 in the group. As a result, Japan will compete with Jordan, ranked second in Group A, to advance to the semifinals on the 16th.

Japan, which had already confirmed its advance to the quarterfinals and No. 1 ranking in the group in the second round, easily won even after operating a large number of rotations on the same day. In particular, he scored 10 goals in three group games and did not concede a single goal, showing a solid track record on both sides of offense and defense.

Japan is the only team to win the tournament twice. He won the 2016 and 2024 championships. In preparation for the 2028 LA Olympics, Japan is participating in the competition with players under the age of 21, not under the age of 23, like South Korea.

While Japan is doing well, Korea's performance is shabby. South Korea's U-23 national soccer team, led by head coach Lee Min-sung, lost 0-2 to Uzbekistan in the final third match of Group C on the 13th. South Korea advanced to the quarterfinals with one win, one draw and one loss (four points) after Uzbekistan (7 points). At the same time, Iran (score 2) lost 0-1 to Lebanon (score 3), luckily going to the quarterfinals.

Lee Min-sung is aiming for his second career top in six years since the 2020 Thailand tournament, but he has been criticized for his disappointing performance throughout the group stage. In particular, he made a poor performance in Uzbekistan, where the average age is two years younger, including one effective shot.

The Japanese media also noted this. Japan's "Football Channel" said, "Korea only had one effective shot against Uzbekistan, which is two years younger," adding that Korean soccer does not have the same dominance in Asia as before.

"Gekisaka" also ranked second after Korea lost to 'young' Uzbekistan. South Korea, which failed to advance to the quarterfinals on its own, rose to second place in the group according to the results of other stadiums.

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*This content was translated by AI.