*This content was translated by AI.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) recently looked back at the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup. South Korea, led by head coach Lee Min-sung, was the team with the most passes in the tournament, but also won the disgrace of being the "most lost" team.
AFC reviewed the tournament on the 27th (Korea Standard Time) based on various records from the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup. South Korea reached the semifinals of the tournament for the first time in six years, but lost to Japan and Vietnam in succession to finish fourth in the tournament.
According to the AFC, South Korea allowed as many as eight runs in this tournament, disgraced the most runs in the tournament.
South Korea previously lost two goals each against Lebanon and Uzbekistan in the group stage, allowing one point against Australia in the quarterfinals, one point against Japan in the semifinals, and two points against Vietnam in the third place match. The only scoreless game was against Iran in the first round of the group stage, and he allowed five consecutive goals. It was two teams, South Korea and Vietnam, that allowed eight runs.
On the contrary, the number of passes was 3,443, more than Japan (2,890 times), the winner. The pass success rate was 86%, the second highest after Iran (89%). In individual pass records, Shin Min-ha (489 times) and Lee Hyun-yong (476 times) ranked first and second overall, and coincidentally, both were last-minute centerback resources. This is a glimpse of how Lee Min-sung runs the competition.
In addition, Lee Min-sung recorded 80 shots, the second-most after Japan (97 times). However, as many as 32 out of 80 were concentrated in the third-place match against Vietnam, the last game, and even this was focused only after the opponent's exit at the end of the second half gained a numerical advantage. Nevertheless, South Korea finally lost after a close shootout without breaking the balance.
On the other hand, there was a lot of praise for Japan, which rose to the top. "Japan not only won consecutive championships for the first time in the tournament, but also made a new history by winning for the third time in its career," AFC said. "Japan, led by head coach Ko Oiwa, only struggled against Jordan in the quarterfinals and showed a perfect performance with few mistakes."
"Japan has scored 16 goals, the most in the tournament, and most of the players are also eligible for the 2028 tournament, so they are considered the favorite to win the fourth championship of their career," he added. The 2028 tournament will also be the Asian qualifying round for the Los Angeles (LA) Olympics, and Japan will play the U-21 national team, not the U-23 team, in preparation for two years later.
Japan and China, which clashed in the final, played as many as five of the six matches in this tournament without losing a point, in contrast to South Korea. Japan allowed the only goal in the quarterfinals against Jordan, and China did not score a single goal as it reached the final, but failed to win the first ever championship, allowing as many as four runs in the final against Japan.
Director Lee Min-sung said on his way back home on the 25th, "I'm sorry for showing bad performance and results. As the Asian Games, an important tournament, are left, I hope you believe and wait to develop into a better team. "The review has not been completed yet." We also returned home in a state of mind. "It would be better to hold a meeting with the Korea Football Association and the Korea Power Enhancement Committee and then present the results comprehensively," he said.
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*This content was translated by AI.
