*This content was translated by AI.
Lee Min Sung-ho, who also wrote a history of humiliation, is not overrated as the 'worst ever'
Lee Min-sung-ho wrote another history of "another" humiliation. After losing to two-year-old Uzbekistan and Japan, even Vietnam, which had never lost a match in history, did not win. All of them were written in the same contest. Among the teams that participated in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 (U-23) Asian Cup, it is not excessive to say that it is the worst team ever.
South Korea's U-23 national soccer team, led by head coach Lee Min-sung, tied Vietnam 2-2 in the third place match of the tournament at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the 24th (Korea time) and lost 6-7 in the penalty shootout to end the tournament in fourth place. Even though he failed to advance to the final and was pushed to the third place final, he couldn't keep his last pride.
South Korea, which had only three shots in the first half of the day, was hit by a counterattack in the 30th minute of the first half. Kim Tae-won (Gatale Toyama) equalized in the 24th minute of the second half, but he lost the lead again due to a free kick loss in just two minutes. Shin Min-ha's (Gangwon FC) theater equalizer at the end of the second half's extra time, when the defeat was thickening, was revived, but he failed to break the balance in overtime due to the opponent's exit at the end of the second half. In the end, they lost to Vietnam after a close game of penalty shootout that went to kicker number 7.
The official record remains a draw as it went to the penalty shootout, but this is the first time in 10 games that South Korea has knelt down to Vietnam in a face-off between U-23 teams. Since their first showdown at the Doha Asian Games in 2006, South Korea has been strong against Vietnam with six wins and three draws. It is the first time in 17 years that Korean soccer was defeated by Vietnam even if it added A national team and other age teams beyond the U-23 national team. The U-20 national team was defeated in 2022, but the opponent at the time was the U-23 national team, not the Vietnam U-20.
In particular, it was painful that he failed to completely overwhelm his opponent, who was considered one step lower, even in the game where his last pride was at stake, and he failed to break the balance even with the numerical advantage. In fact, South Korea only had a high ball possession, but rather played a dragged game without taking the lead. It was only after the opponent's exit at the end of the second half that he launched a wave offensive, but he eventually lost the penalty shootout and bowed his head after many chances of attack, including inaccurate shots and crosses.
The problem is that the sluggish performance of Lee Min-sung was not just this game. Earlier in the group stage, they were completely defeated 0-2 after a helpless game against Uzbekistan, who was two years younger than the U-21 national team, and were on the verge of eliminating the group stage for the first time ever. Thanks to the results of other teams, they reached the tournament but lost 0-1 to Japan, who also participated in the U-21 national team, falling to the third place final. The history of humiliation, which had been written repeatedly in this tournament, was marked by the first defeat in the history of the Vietnam War.
If the match against Vietnam, which was left with a draw according to the official record, is counted as a loss, Lee Min-sung left a poor performance of 2 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses in this tournament. This is the first time in history that the South Korean U-23 national team participated in the tournament has lost three times. In the 2018 Chinese competition, he remained in fourth place after the third-place match, but his performance at the competition was 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. Coincidentally, coach Kim Bong-gil, who remained in fourth place at the time, was replaced after the competition.
Director Lee Min-sung, who took office in June last year, was also pushed to the brink. The biggest problem is that it was not just one game against Vietnam, but the sluggishness continued throughout the tournament, and in the process, coach Lee Min-sung's clear tactical colors were not revealed. Concerns are bound to grow as to whether Lee Min-sung will be able to challenge for the gold medal at the Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games in September under the coach Lee Min-sung's system. Given that coach Lee's contract period is until the Asian Games and the Los Angeles (LA) Olympics two years later, it is truly an "emergency."
The Korea Football Association's power reinforcement committee under Chairman Hyun Young-min, who took the helm of head coach Lee Min-sung last year, is also not free from the responsibility of Lee Min-sung's sluggish performance in the tournament. At the time, Hyun Young-min, chairman of the Korea Power Reinforcement Committee, explained, "I have my own clear philosophy about the game model, and I expressed my strong will and confidence in the manager's position through specific team management plans." However, coach Lee Min-sung's tactical capabilities have only left question marks throughout the tournament.
Coach Lee Min-sung explained about the sluggishness of the tournament, saying, "We are not a team in the final stage yet." After the defeat against Vietnam, he said in an official press conference, "It's a very regrettable result. I should have played the game calmly, but I was sorry that I couldn't," he said, adding, "It's a team that has to continue to develop." I don't think it's a team in the completion stage yet," he said. Lee Min-sung will return home on the 25th.
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*This content was translated by AI.
