'It was An Ju-wan again'! A last-minute goal erupts in the Korean theater! U-17 national team draws 1-1 with UAE in Asian Cup

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean men's under-17 (U-17) national team escaped a crisis of defeat thanks to a last-minute goal.

Coach Kim Hyun-joon's Lee Kkeu-neun (CEO) team drew 1-1 with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the first group stage match of the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-17 Asian Cup held on the 7th at King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia. With this result, Korea began the group stage with one draw.

In this tournament, Korea was grouped in Group C with UAE, Vietnam, and Yemen. On the same day, Vietnam defeated Yemen 1-0 and took the top spot in the group. Korea and UAE are tied for second place, while Yemen is in last place in the group.

For this match, Korea's starting lineup consisted of Choi Min-jun, An Sun-hyun, Sung Min-soo (all from Pohang U-18), Moon Ji-hwan, Jung Ha-won, Park Ji-hoo (FC Seoul U-18), Choi Jae-hyeok (Kangwon FC U-18), Kim Ji-ho (Daejeon Hana Citizen U-18), Kim Ji-woo (Busan IPark U-18), An Ju-wan (Seoul E-Land), and goalkeeper Moon Yu-no (Jeju SK U-18).

An Ju-wan, a recipient of the Cha Bum-kun Soccer Award, is the only professional player to be named in Lee Beon (CEO)'s squad. He joined Seoul E-Land in K League 2 this year and made his debut as a substitute in the Cheonan City match in March, setting a new record as the youngest player to appear in K League 2 at 16 years, 11 months, and 7 days.

However, Korea conceded the opening goal from the start. In the 8th minute of the first half, they gave up the first goal to Al Jeneibi.

After conceding an unexpected goal, Korea immediately launched an attack to equalize. Meanwhile, UAE, leading 1-0, dropped their defensive line from the start to block Korea's attacks. In the 36th minute of the first half, An Sun-hyun's left-footed shot missed the goalpost, leaving a sense of regret. A free-kick opportunity in the 39th minute of the first half also failed to result in a goal.

Korea continued to press forward in the second half, but lacked accuracy. In the 2nd minute of the second half, Kim Ji-woo's right-footed shot went high and to the left. The counter-attack opportunity in the 14th minute was also disappointing. Substitute Lee In-woo (Suwon Samsung U-18) cut in from the right flank and took a left-footed mid-range shot, but it was saved by the opposing goalkeeper. Kim Ji-woo's subsequent shot also flew high.

On the contrary, Korea struggled against counter-attacks and narrowly avoided several scoring threats.

It was An Ju-wan who saved the team from the brink of defeat. In the 43rd minute of the second half, he struck with his right foot from the left side of the penalty box, shaking the net. Choi Min-jun recorded an assist.

Even after that, Korea relentlessly attempted to score a go-ahead goal, but the result did not materialize. In the end, they were content with earning one point.

Meanwhile, a total of 16 teams participated in this tournament. The teams are divided into four groups of four, playing a group stage, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarterfinals. The top eight teams secure qualification for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Korea has won the U-17 Asian Cup twice in history (1986 and 2002). In the most recent tournament in 2025, they reached the semifinals.

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*This content was translated by AI.