*This content was translated by AI.
As the South Korean national under-23 national soccer team had the worst performance at the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup, coach Lee Min-sung (53)'s future is also on the cutting board. Coach Lee Min-sung expressed his will to lead the Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games in September, but attention is also being paid to the decision of the Korea Football Association as there have been cases of replacement due to sluggish U-23 Asian Cup.
South Korea, 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 after a penalty shootout to stay in fourth place. Although he has performed better than early elimination of the quarterfinals in the last two consecutive tournaments, he has suffered the most losses (3 losses) ever, including a penalty shootout defeat, and has been at the center of controversy as he has criticized his performance throughout the tournament. In the case of a penalty shootout defeat, the official record is a draw, but it even left a disgraceful record of kneeling on Vietnam for the first time in the face-off between the U-23 national teams.
The problem was that it was not just a problem limited to the defeat in Vietnam. Lee Min-sung drew 0-0 with "lowest in the group" Iran in the group stage and won 4-2 after a fierce battle with Lebanon. It was defeated 0-2 by Uzbekistan, who played for the U-21 national team, two years younger. South Korea, which failed to confirm its advance to the quarterfinals on its own, reached the quarterfinals tournament by surprise thanks to the news of Iran's defeat in Lebanon.
He took a breather after beating his opponent Australia in the quarterfinals, but failed to advance to the finals as he suffered another helpless defeat against the "two-year-old" Japanese U-21 national team in the semifinals. Furthermore, he failed to win against Vietnam, which had never lost before. He even lost his pride even though he played extra time amid numerical superiority due to the opponent's exit. Not only did he stay in fourth place after losing to Vietnam, but his poor performance was repeated throughout the tournament.
It wasn't just a matter of this tournament. Lee Min-sung was completely defeated by Saudi Arabia 0-4 and 0-2 in two practice games, respectively, during the Saudi training camp last year. Later, he suffered a crushing defeat of 0-2 at the Panda Cup in China. If it was interpreted as part of the preparation process for the U-23 Asian Cup at the time, it was a precursor to the sluggishness of the U-23 Asian Cup.
Coach Lee Min-sung said, "I'd like to say that I'm so sorry for showing you a bad performance and results," while bowing down, "I hope you'll show new performances toward the Asian Games in the future and trust and wait to develop into a better team." While acknowledging the poor performance at the Asian Cup, the will to lead the Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games in September is firmly revealed. Coach Lee Min-sung's contract period goes beyond the Asian Games to the Los Angeles (LA) Olympics two years later.
Coach Lee Min-sung said, "I think if we enter the Asian Games system, we will have a better appearance because we can use all players," citing the limited composition of players as one of the reasons for the sluggishness of the tournament. Although it was virtually impossible to recruit players playing in Europe, the Asian Games, which are subject to military service exceptions, will be relatively easy to transfer to the European leagues and will be stronger by adding wild card selection over the age of 24.
However, considering that there is only one overseas player, Japan, who played in the U-21 national team, won the title overwhelmingly, and that even Vietnam, which is inferior to Korea, did not win, it is questionable whether the composition of the players was a problem. In line with the fact that director Lee Min-sung's tactical characteristics were not revealed throughout the competition, there are strong voices calling for a "bold system change." Although there are only seven to eight months left until the Asian Games, the remaining contracts must be terminated and a new start with a new coach system.
Already, the Korea Football Association has dismissed the coach ahead of the Asian Games due to the sluggish U-23 Asian Cup. Coach Kim Bong-gil, who terminated his contract shortly after finishing fourth in the U-23 Asian Cup (then championship) in February 2018. At that time, the Korean Football Association's national coach appointment committee comprehensively evaluated the national team's performance after the tournament and canceled the contract with Kim ahead of the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games scheduled for August-September of that year. Since then, the U-23 national team, which head coach Kim Hak-beom has newly appointed, has won the Asian Games gold medal and even won the right to participate in the Tokyo Olympics by winning the 2020 AFC U-23 Asian Cup, reaching the quarterfinals.
On the contrary, even though South Korea, led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong, lost to Japan 0-3 in the quarterfinals of the 2022 tournament, the Korea Football Association decided to remain in office. Hwang Sun-hong won the Asian Games gold medal that year with his strength, including wild cards, but failed to advance to the Olympic finals for the first time in 40 years as he was eliminated from the quarterfinals at the 2024 U-23 Asian Cup. Coincidentally, the two choices, which had been mixed immediately after the recent U-23 Asian Cup slump, led to success and failure in the Olympic finals two years later.
Moreover, the number of men's soccer teams qualified for the 2028 LA Olympics will be 12 teams, including the host country, down four from the previous one. There are only two tickets to the finals in Asia. Only the final teams that South Korea has not reached for three consecutive tournaments will head to the finals of the LA Olympics, and looking at Lee Min-sung's performance at the U-23 Asian Cup, the possibility of advancing to the finals two years later cannot be viewed positively.
The Korea Football Association will review Lee Min-sung's U-23 Asian Cup in February, and naturally, coach Lee Min-sung's future will be discussed in the process. If coach Lee Min-sung's retention is decided without a convincing reason, the fierce criticism and controversy surrounding the Korea Football Association and Lee Min-sung will inevitably grow.
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*This content was translated by AI.
