*This content was translated by AI.
Lee Min-sung's pass count was overwhelmingly No. 1.
AFC (Asian Football Federation) introduced various data left by participating countries on the 27th (Korea time), saying, "The 2026 AFC Under-23 Asian Cup continued to develop excitingly from the whistle of the first game to the end of the last game."
The team that recorded the most shots was Japan (97 times). Korea (80), Uzbekistan (60 times), and Saudi Arabia (59 times) ranked second. AFC said, "The winning team Japan recorded the most shots as if it were natural, followed by South Korea in fourth place."
South Korea topped the list with 3,443 passes. Four countries, including Japan (2,890), Vietnam (2,421), and China (2,048), were then listed at the top.
The pass success rate was outside the top team. Iran, which failed to win a single game and was eliminated from the group stage, reached an 89% pass success rate. South Korea ranked second with 86 percent, and Japan and Saudi Arabia tied for third with 84 percent, respectively.
He also mentioned Uzbekistan's elimination from the quarterfinals, which had reached the semifinals for four consecutive times until the previous tournament. "Uzbank lost to China in the quarterfinals and missed its record of advancing to the semifinals for the fifth consecutive time," AFC said. "This elimination was regrettable as it boasted of winning the 2018 tournament and ranking second in the 2022 and 2024 tournaments."
As for Korea, he said, "I reached the semifinals for the first time since winning the 2020 tournament. South Korea, which had achieved the semifinals or higher for four consecutive times from 2014 to 2020, has advanced to the semifinals for the first time in six years," he said.
Meanwhile, Lee Min-sung sought to win the first title in six years at the tournament in Saudi Arabia, but only finished fourth.
After a 0-0 draw with Iran in Group C, they came from behind to beat Lebanon 4-2 in the second, but lost 0-2 in the third against Uzbekistan, a team of two-year-olds. South Korea, which reached the tournament as second in the group with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss (4 points), seemed to be on the rise as it beat Australia 2-1 in the quarterfinals, but lost 0-1 against Japan, two years younger in the semifinals. Then, in the 3rd and 4th place match, he lost to coach Kim Sang-sik's Vietnam, which was considered a lower level, after a penalty shootout, and finished the competition in 4th place.
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*This content was translated by AI.
