*This content was translated by AI.
Lee Min-sung is trying to advance to the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 (U-23) Asian Cup final. The opponent who will meet in the semi-finals (semi-finals) is Japan, an eternal rival and "two years younger."
South Korea, led by head coach Lee Min-sung, will face Japan in the semifinals of the tournament at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at 8:30 p.m. on the 20th (Korea time). Vietnam and China, led by head coach Kim Sang-sik, will face off at 0:30 a.m. on the 21st in the semifinal match on the other side.
The journey to the semifinals was not easy. South Korea narrowly passed Group C in second place in the group stage earlier. He tied Iran 0-0 and beat Lebanon 4-2 to rank first in the group, but lost to Uzbekistan 0-2 in the final group match. He was on the verge of elimination for the first time ever, but thanks to Iran's defeat against Lebanon, he reached the quarterfinals.
Fortunately, he overcame the first crisis of the quarterfinal tournament. He met with tough opponent Australia and won 2-1 thanks to Shin Min-ha's dramatic winning goal in the 43rd minute of the second half and reached the semifinals. It is the first time in six years and three tournaments that Korea has reached the semifinals of this tournament since the 2020 tournament.
On the other hand, Japan passed Group B in all three games. He passed with perfect performance of 10 points and no runs, and was selected as a "winner" early on. Instead, he sweated hard in the quarterfinals. After drawing 1-1 with Jordan, he won after a penalty shootout and reached the semifinals. During the penalty shootout process, the kick was blocked by the goalkeeper, but the ball hit by the goalkeeper was caught in reverse rotation and was lucky to enter the goal.
The match between Korea and Japan is also a showdown between the Korean U-23 team and the Japanese U-21 team. South Korea has set up this tournament as a U-23 national team that meets the standards of the tournament. There are some young players, but 23-year-old players are in the process of preparing for the Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games in September this year. Japan, on the other hand, participated in this tournament as a U-21 national team in preparation for the Los Angeles Olympics two years later and reached the semifinals. Japan will also play the U-21 national team at the Asian Games in its own country in September.
Nevertheless, we must not let our guard down. South Korea also met "two-year-old" Japan in the quarterfinals of the 2022 tournament four years ago, and suffered a shocking 0-3 defeat at the time. At that time, Japan also played in the U-21 national team in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics, two years later. On the other hand, South Korea, led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong at the time, experienced frustration after being completely defeated by Japan even when overseas players such as Lee Kang-in, who played for Majorca (Spain), joined the team.
However, South Korea changed the mood by winning the Hangzhou Asian Games final in Hangzhou, China, the following year, and the AFC U-23 Asian Cup group stage in April 2024, respectively. However, it is worth considering that the Asian Games final was a two-year-old team without a wild card, while only Korea had the special characteristics of "special military service" and even a wild card was selected. At the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup, both South Korea and Japan were U-23 national teams.
In the end, this showdown will be a showdown between the Korean U-23 national team and the Japanese U-21 national team without a wild card as they did four years ago. It could be a great opportunity for juniors to avenge the defeat that U-23 national team players had to bow their heads to the humiliating results at the time. It is an opportunity that cannot be missed in that if you succeed in the revenge match, you can reach the final of the tournament for the first time in six years.
South Korea has the upper hand with eight wins, four draws and six losses in the past between the U-23 national teams. Ahead of the semifinal match between Korea and Japan, head coach Lee Min-sung said through the Korea Football Association, "Japan is composed of U-21s, but the players have a lot of professional experience," but added, "We are also preparing well for the entire team to play well by taking advantage of our strengths. I will do my best to continue the momentum of my victory (against Australia) with a good performance," he said.
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
