Japan, two years younger, was even a "rotation," Lee Min-sung's more humiliating defeat

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Min-sung lost to archrival Japan and failed to advance to the final of the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Asian Cup. Japan was disgraced even though it played in this tournament as a U-21 national team two years younger. Even at the time of the Korea-Japan match, Japan operated a rotation, not the best of the tournament, so the magnitude of the shock was even greater.

South Korea, led by head coach Lee Min-sung, lost to Japan 0-1 in the semifinals of the tournament at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the 20th (Korea time). On this day, South Korea was only weak enough to be 1-10 in the number of shots in the first half, and eventually failed to overcome the corner kick loss allowed in the 36th minute of the first half. He fought back in the second half, but it was not enough to open Japan's goal.

Before the game, he burned his will, saying, "We should not lose even rock-paper-scissors to Japan," but the will did not lead to a performance on the ground. As the number of shots in the first half suggests, South Korea was completely behind Japan from the beginning. It was only after being cornered that he went on the offensive in the second half, but that didn't mean there was a trick to break down the Japanese defense. The result was a shock defeat against Japan, "two years younger."

South Korea and Japan had different attitudes toward this year's tournament. South Korea, which is trying to win the gold medal at the Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya (Japan) in September, also organized the tournament as a U-23 national team. Japan, on the other hand, participated in the Los Angeles Olympics two years later in preparation. That was why he participated in this tournament as a member of the U-21 national team. Nevertheless, it was a humiliating outcome for Korea to lose.

Japan even operated a "rotation" on that day. Compared to the last quarterfinal match against Jordan, five starters have changed. The selection against Korea was almost the same as the starting lineup against Qatar in the third round of the group stage, which had a massive rotation after confirming its advance to the quarterfinals with two consecutive group games early on. It was different from South Korea, which maintained 100% of the same starting lineup as the last quarterfinal against Australia.

Koizumi Kaito (Meiji University), who scored the winning goal, is a college student and was the second player to start out of five games in this tournament. The same was true of Yudai Shimamoto (Shimizu S-Pulse) and Yutaka Michiwaki (Beveron). On the other hand, Yuto Ozeki (Kawasaki Frontale), who scored two consecutive group games and played a leading role in advancing to the quarterfinals, missed the match against Korea at all.

The already shocking defeat against Japan was more humiliating due to the opponent's lineup. Manager Lee Min-sung said, "We didn't shoot well rather than the opponent's goalkeeper blocking well. "I have a regret that I wish I had tried to pressure a little bit earlier in the first half and had an active attitude," he said. "I responded appropriately in the second half, but in the end, soccer is a sport that can only be won by scoring."

South Korea, which failed to advance to the finals due to the loss, will play the third place match against Vietnam, led by head coach Kim Sang-sik, at 0 a.m. on the 24th. The final match of the tournament will be held at 0 a.m. on the 25th as a showdown between Japan and China. Japan will try to win its second consecutive tournament and its third career championship, while China will try to win its first championship.

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*This content was translated by AI.