Korea Football Disaster's First Shock Defeat To Vietnam, 4th Place In U23 Asian Cup

*This content was translated by AI.

It is simply a "catastrophe." The South Korean under-23 national soccer team lost to Vietnam and ranked fourth in the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup. This is the first time in Korean soccer history that it has been defeated by Vietnam's U-23 national team.

South Korea, led by head coach Lee Min-sung, lost 6-7 in the penalty shootout after drawing 2-2 with Vietnam in regular time and overtime at the King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the 24th (Korea time). The Vietnamese head coach is Kim Sang-sik.

With the loss, South Korea finished the tournament in fourth place. Earlier, Lee Min-sung barely reached the quarterfinals with one win, one draw and one loss (four points), including a loss to Uzbekistan, two years younger in Group C. He beat Australia in the first match of the tournament, but lost to Japan, who was also two years younger than the U-21 national team, in the semifinals and was pushed to the third place final. Furthermore, he bowed his head after losing the third-place match, which was at stake for the last pride.

He also left a record of humiliation that will remain in the history of Korean soccer. It is the first time that they have lost to Vietnam since they first faced each other at the Doha Asian Games in 2006. Before the match, South Korea had been "unbeaten" with six wins and three draws in the past between the U-23 teams, but lost for the first time in history. However, the penalty shootout defeat remained a draw on the official record, but it was meaningless. It is another worst record following losses to Uzbekistan and Japan, who are two years younger.

As the Olympics were not held this year, it was fortunate that this tournament had nothing to do with the right to participate in the Olympics. However, it will be a "super emergency" not only for the 4th consecutive Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya (Japan) in September, but also for the Los Angeles (LA) Olympics two years later. Lee Min-seong-ho will return home on the afternoon of the 25th.

On this day, Korea's Jung Seung-bae (Suwon FC) and Jung Jae-sang (Daegu FC) were two-top players, while Kim Do-hyun (Gangwon FC) and Jung Ji-hoon (Gwangju FC) operated a 4-4-2 model on both sides. Bae Hyun-seo (Gyeongnam FC) and Kim Dong-jin (Pohang Steelers) worked together in the midfield.

Jang Seok-hwan (Suwon Samsung), Cho Hyun-tae, Shin Min-ha (Gangwon), and Kang Min-joon (Pohang) defended the defense line, while Hwang Jae-yoon (Suwon FC) defended the goal. Compared to the last semifinal against Japan, more than half of the changes have been made to six players.

South Korea was shaken by the opponent's strong pressure from the beginning of the game. While maintaining a high ball possession rate, he rarely created an opportunity. After failing to create any significant opportunities until the middle of the first half, Kang Min-joon's sharp shot threatened the opponent's goal only in the 27th minute of the first half, but he was blocked by the goalkeeper's good defense.

South Korea, which failed to take advantage of the opportunity, was hit in the 30th minute of the first half. After losing the ball from the opponent's side, he allowed a counterattack. South Korea's right flank defense collapsed. Nguyen Dean Park's cutback was connected to Nguyen Kuok Viet, who was digging into the penalty box. Kuok Viet's left foot shot shook the Korean net.

South Korea seemed to quickly strike a balance. A penalty was declared in the 34th minute of the first half after a corner kick. It was decided that Jung Seung-bae was hit in the face by the opponent's foot in a competitive ball situation. However, the referee cancelled the penalty after an on-field review. It was a dangerous scene, but Dean Park's foot did not hit Jung Seung-bae directly on the head.

South Korea went on the offensive for the rest of the time, but it did not come to fruition in the end. In the end, South Korea finished the first half behind 0-1. The number of shots in the first half was three for South Korea and two for Vietnam. A ball possession of over 60% was meaningless in conjunction with the 0-1 score.

Coach Lee Min-sung, who was in a tight spot, put in Kang Sung-jin (Suwon), Lee Hyun-yong (Suwon FC), and Lee Chan-wook (Kim Chun, managing director) at the beginning of the second half and wrote three replacement cards at the same time. Immediately after the introduction, South Korea threatened the opponent's goal with consecutive shots from Kim Do-hyun, Lee Chan-wook, and Jung Seung-bae. Jeong Jae-sang and Lee Chan-wook also shot one after another. However, the shot went off the post or into the goalkeeper's arms. It did not lead to a decisive opportunity to threaten the opponent. Kang Sung-jin's left foot free-kick was directed in front of the goalkeeper.

Since the middle of the second half, Vietnam has built a more thick defensive wall. South Korea aimed for Vietnam's defensive loopholes with high possession and strong pressure. And 24 minutes into the second half, I finally balanced it. Kim Tae-won, who caught the ball from the left side of the penalty box, dug into the middle and shook the opponent's net with a powerful right-footed turning shot. Kim Tae-won (Gatale Toyama) scored a goal seven minutes after the substitution.

But the tie didn't last long. South Korea lost the lead again in two minutes. Dean Park's right-footed free kick from the left side of the arc shook the Korean net. Dean Park, who helped Kuok Viet score the first goal earlier, accumulated multi-attack points against South Korea on the same day.

South Korea increased its possession and aimed for an equalizer again. Lee Kun-hee (Suwon) was deployed earlier due to Jung Seung-bae's injury, and he used up five replacement cards early, so he could not expect a change of atmosphere through replacement. In the end, we had to balance the players on the ground somehow. He aimed for an equalizer centered on a cross toward the gate.

In the 40th minute of the second half, Dean Park was sent off directly for a rough tackle, and South Korea even gained a numerical advantage. Vietnam has begun to endure with more weight on defense. As time passed, the pressure on Korea grew. The center backs were also forward-deployed, but the cross accuracy was poor, so the opportunity to attack seemed to be lost.

However, a theater equalizer was scored at the end of the second half extra time. The side cross headed to the gate, and Shin Min-ha, who was forward-deployed, shook the Vietnamese net with a quick shot after the aerial ball competition. It was simply a heavenly valley from the edge of the cliff. Eventually, with the referee's final whistle, the game went into extra time.

South Korea used Kim Yong-hak (Pohang) as an additional replacement card, putting weight on the attack. South Korea launched a wave offensive with numerical superiority. However, as the opportunity to attack went back to nothing, he swallowed the regret. In the second minute of the second half of extra time, Lee Hyun-yong's header slightly missed the post. One more South Korean attack continued throughout the extra 30 minutes, but it failed to break the balance in the end.

The penalty shootout that ended up going in. With South Korea leading the way, kickers from 1 to 5 succeeded in both teams. Even the penalty shootout went to Sudden Death. The balance was broken at kicker number seven. In South Korea, Bae Hyun-seo's kick was blocked by the goalkeeper, while Vietnam's No. 7 kicker shook the net. The penalty shootout score of 6-7, which lasted nearly three hours, ended with South Korea's defeat.

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*This content was translated by AI.