*This content was translated by AI.
There is a possibility that the Korean national U-23 football team will not be included in the so-called top seed (port 1) at the 2028 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup, which will also serve as the Asian qualifying round for the Los Angeles (LA) Olympics. Korea has already lost its pride by belonging to Port 2, not Port 1, for the last two consecutive tournaments, but it is on the verge of losing to Vietnam in the allocation of ports in the tournament two years later.
Unless the number of participating teams suddenly increases, the 2028 AFC U-23 Asian Cup is also likely to be a 16-nation system that has continued since the first tournament in 2013. The host country and the 15 countries that passed the preliminary round will be divided into four groups of four teams, and the first and second places in each group will determine the winning team through the quarterfinals tournament. Port allocation is used in the draw. The higher the port, the more advantageous it is to avoid teams with an advantage over the host country or teams with strong power.
The port allocation only reflected the results of the previous tournament until the 2024 tournament. South Korea, which won the 2020 tournament, was assigned to Port 1 at the 2022 tournament. However, as he was eliminated from the quarterfinals at the 2022 tournament, even Port 2 belonged to the chin-up at the next tournament, the 2024 tournament. The port allocation rule was first changed at the 2026 tournament, which was recently held. The previous competition's performance was 100% weighted, and the 2022 competition (50%) and 2020 competition (25%) were also weighted differently. The port was assigned based on the recent performance of the three tournaments.
While the performance of the South Korean national team, which won the 2020 tournament, was reflected with only 25% weight, South Korea was pushed back to Port 2 again as the results of the 2024 (100%) and 2022 (50%) tournaments, which were eliminated from the quarterfinals, were reflected. This is the background of belonging to a group with Uzbekistan, which has been assigned to Port 1 by finishing second in the last two consecutive tournaments in the group stage. The 2028 tournament port allocation regulations have not yet been officially announced, but the possibility of continuing the same regulations as the 2026 tournament is weighed.
In this case, South Korea must compete for the port with a "super performance" of quarter-finals, quarter-finals, and fourth place in order from the 2022 to the 2026 tournament. It is a performance that is bound to fall behind Japan, which won the third place, the championship, and Uzbekistan, which reached the second place, the second place, the second place, and the quarterfinals. On top of that, we can't guarantee a clear advantage even against Vietnam. Like South Korea, Vietnam was eliminated from the quarterfinals in both 2022 and 2024 tournaments, and ranked third ahead of South Korea in 2026. Even if the port allocation only considers the previous tournament's performance as in the past, Korea will be in fourth place behind Vietnam.
In addition, the variable is that the 'host country' automatically belongs to port 1. According to foreign media, Japan wants to host the next U-23 Asian Cup, and if Japan actually hosts the tournament, South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest, could also be in Port 1. However, there is a local prospect that China will also push to hold the tournament. If countries other than China, Japan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam hold the tournament, the number of teams that can be in Port 1 based on their recent performance will be reduced to three as the host country is in Port 1. Whether the recent three tournaments' performances are reflected or only the previous tournament's performance is reflected, Korea may be pushed to Port 2. It is the third consecutive time.
It's not just about pride. Overall, while the upward leveling of Asian teams has become clear, the possibility of passing the group stage decreases if you receive the lower port and meet the Port 1 team. South Korea, already led by head coach Lee Min-sung, was pushed to the brink of "group league elimination" at the 2026 tournament. He was completely defeated by Uzbekistan in the final match. If Iran had defeated Lebanon in the match held at the same time, South Korea could have been eliminated from the group stage for the first time in history, behind Uzbekistan and Iran. Thanks to Iran's defeat by Lebanon, South Korea was able to advance to the quarterfinals tournament with "foolishness."
To make matters worse, the competition for the Olympics will be fiercer than ever in two years due to a decrease in the number of Olympic tickets. The men's soccer finals at the LA Olympics have been reduced from 16 to 12, and the number of tickets allocated to Asia has been adjusted from 3.5 to 2. In the end, only the teams that reach the final can head to the Olympics. It is important to continue the momentum from the group stage, but if the draw is twisted due to being pushed out of the port allocation, the process to the Olympic stage will be more difficult. The history of failing to advance to the Olympic finals for the second time in a row following the 2024 Paris Olympics, which failed to advance to the Olympic finals for the first time in 40 years, may be engraved in Korean soccer.
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*This content was translated by AI.
