Italy's wall proved too high despite Argentina being overcome! U-20 Yeo Ja (CEO) team, 1-3 defeat in World Cup quarterfinals leaves 'tears of regret'

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean women's under-20 (U-20) national football team failed to reach the semifinals for the first time in 16 years, losing to Italy in the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

Led by head coach Park Yoon-jung, the South Korean women's U-20 national team lost 1-3 to Italy in the tournament's quarterfinal match held at Arena Sosnowiec in Poland on the afternoon of the 19th (Korean time).

In this tournament featuring 24 participating nations, South Korea advanced to the round of 16 as the second-place team in Group C (one win, one draw, one loss), defeating South American powerhouse Argentina 1-0. This marked their first quarterfinal appearance since the 2014 Canada tournament, a span of 12 years. Had they won this match, they could have reached the semifinals for the first time since the 2010 Germany tournament (where they finished third), but they unfortunately lost. Meanwhile, Italy, which advanced from the group stage for the first time in their history, progressed to the semifinals.

In the 16th minute of the first half, South Korea conceded the opening goal when Karen Apia headed in a cross delivered by Gilda Pellegrino Cimò of Italy. In the 25th minute, South Korea launched a counterattack with an effective shot from Beom Ye-ju and equalized in the 43rd minute to balance the match. After Jung Da-bin's free kick struck the goalpost and trickled down, Han Min-seo connected with it, and Lee Ha-eun gently pushed it into the net with her right foot to score the equalizer.

Immediately after the second half began, a change was attempted by substituting Park Ju-ha for Jo Hye-young, but South Korea quickly lost the lead again. In the 3rd minute of the second half, they conceded an additional goal from Apia's left-footed volley following a corner kick situation. Then, in the 18th minute of the second half, they allowed a left-footed mid-range shot from Paola Padda from directly in front of the penalty area, widening the score gap to 1-3.

South Korea continued making substitutions afterward in an attempt to score a consolation goal but could not find any further goals and finished the match without scoring again.

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*This content was translated by AI.