Will the first-ever Korean head coach 'final showdown' take place? Lee Min-sung and Kim Sang-sik will try to win the U23 Asian Cup

*This content was translated by AI.

• Lee Min Sung-ho, South Korea, Japan and U23 Asian Cup semifinalsVietnam, led by Kim Sang-sik, has a clash with ChinaIn the event of a joint victory, the leaders of South Korea will face off in the final

There is a possibility that Korean head coaches will stage a resourceful match on the final stage of the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Asian Cup. Both the South Korean U-23 national team led by head coach Lee Min-sung (53) and the Vietnamese U-23 national team led by head coach Kim Sang-sik (50) reached the semifinals of the tournament. It is the first time in eight years that two teams led by South Korean coaches have reached the semifinals of the tournament since Kim Bong-gil's Korea and Park Hang-seo's Vietnam during the 2018 tournament.

South Korea advanced to the semifinals by beating Australia 2-1 with consecutive goals by Baek Gaon (Busan I'Park) and Shin Min-ha (Kangwon FC) in the quarterfinals of the tournament held at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the 18th (Korea time). It is the first semifinal in six years and three tournaments, overcoming the early elimination of the quarterfinals at the 2022 and 2024 tournaments.

Lee Min-sung was on the brink of elimination after losing 0-2 to Uzbekistan after drawing 0-0 with Iran in Group C and winning 4-2 against Lebanon. However, at the same time, Iran crossed the tournament's first gateway after reaching the quarterfinals as the second-ranked team in the group thanks to a loss to Lebanon.

On top of that, Vietnam, led by head coach Kim Sang-sik, also advanced to the semifinals by beating the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after a close game in extra time. Vietnam beat the UAE in the quarterfinals after winning all three games against Jordan, Kyrgyzstan and Saudi Arabia in Group A and advanced to the semifinals for the first time in eight years since the 2018 tournament led by head coach Park Hang-seo. Park Hang-seo has reached the final and won the runner-up prize.

The semifinals of this tournament will be played against South Korea and Japan, Vietnam and China, respectively. The fateful Korea-Japan match will be held at 8:30 p.m. on the 20th and the Vietnam-China match at 0:30 a.m. on the 21st, respectively.

If South Korea and Vietnam each win in the semifinals, the two South Korean head coaches may face each other as enemies on the final stage. It's the first time in a competition. In the 2018 tournament, "Kim Bong-gil" South Korea failed to advance to the finals after being eliminated from the semifinals, while "Park Hang-seo" Vietnam reached the finals, failing to face off the finals between South Korean head coaches. Kim Hak-beom, who led Korea to its first win at the 2020 tournament, is the only Korean coach to experience the championship.

Head coach Lee Min-sung and head coach Kim Sang-sik have faced each other once in April 2023 as head coaches of Daejeon Hana Citizen and Jeonbuk Hyundai, respectively, on the K-League stage. However, at that time, head coach Kim Sang-sik was unable to direct the team due to the exit of the previous game, and Daejeon, led by head coach Lee Min-sung, won the game. Since then, head coach Kim Sang-sik broke up with his team in May of that year, and head coach Lee Min-sung broke up with his team in May of the following year.

South Korea, led by head coach Lee Min-sung, will challenge for the second time since the 2020 tournament, and Vietnam Kim Sang-sik-ho will challenge for the first time in history that head coach Park Hang-seo has not achieved. If Korea wins this tournament, it will achieve the most wins (2 times) in the tournament with Japan. Vietnam goes beyond advancing to the final for the first time in Southeast Asia and challenges a new history of winning for the first time. The long-awaited final will be held at midnight on the 25th.

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*This content was translated by AI.