*This content was translated by AI.
The decisive victory in the opening match came early. Lee Min-seong's South Korean men's U-23 national team secured an early berth into the quarterfinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games with just one game played.
On the 18th, Saudi Arabia defeated Qatar 2-0 in the Group D second match of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men's soccer tournament at Mizuho Park Rugby Stadium in Nagoya, Japan.
Thanks to today's results, Lee Min-seong's team received a favorable outcome. In Group D, which was organized with only three teams due to Iraq's withdrawal, both South Korea and Saudi Arabia, each having won one match, successfully advanced to the quarterfinal tournament. Meanwhile, Qatar, suffering two consecutive defeats, was eliminated early as the last-place team.
In this tournament featuring a total of 15 participating teams in men's soccer, the group stage is played across four groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarterfinals to compete for medals. With Qatar's elimination confirmed, South Korea and Saudi Arabia have secured at least second place in their group and clinched their tickets to the quarterfinals regardless of the outcome of their final head-to-head match.
The foundation for an early quarterfinal berth was the decisive victory in the first match. On the 15th, during the opening group stage match, South Korea crushed Qatar 4-1, led by a hat-trick performance from wildcard player Eom Ji-sung (Swansea City) in the first half.
At that time, South Korea deployed Kim Myung-jun (KRC Genk) as the lone striker, with Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City), Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic FC), and Eom Ji-sung positioned in the second line to showcase formidable firepower. Starting with Eom Ji-sung's opening goal following a long pass from captain Kim Ji-soo (Brentford) in the 7th minute of the first half, he added another goal in the 20th minute by capitalizing on an opponent's error, and sealed the third goal in stoppage time of the first half by finishing off a cross from Lee Seung-won (Gangwon FC), scoring all three goals for South Korea in the first half alone. Kim Myung-jun added a fourth goal in the 21st minute of the second half. Although South Korea conceded a late consolation goal, they comfortably finished the match by making effective use of substitutes including Yang Min-hyuk (Westerlo), Kang Sang-yoon (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Lee Hyun-ju (Arouca), Park Seung-soo (Newcastle United), and Choi Woo-jin (Incheon United).
Currently, South Korea is tied with Saudi Arabia at 3 points. Leading Group D in first place due to a superior goal difference (+3 compared to Saudi Arabia's +2).
Lee Min-seong's team will face Saudi Arabia for the top spot in the group stage in their final third match on the 22nd at the same venue. After taking a day of rest on the 17th, the national team conducted tactical training at Toyota City Sports Park Athletics Stadium on the morning of the 18th, followed by indoor training at the accommodation's weight training facility in the afternoon to boost their condition.
South Korean soccer is now aiming for a historic first-ever four-peat in Asian Games history, following victories in the 2014 Incheon, 2018 Jakarta-Palembang, and 2022 Hangzhou (held in 2023) tournaments.
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*This content was translated by AI.
