[Aichi Nagoya AG] China's "clay pot" was broken! The "European-based duo" Lee Young-jun and Bae Jun-ho strike hard! Team Lee Min-seong secures a 2-1 comeback victory, "Just one win left for the gold medal"

*This content was translated by AI.

Just one win remains until victory. Team Lee Min-seong defeated China to advance to the Asian Games final.

The South Korea under-23 (U-23) national football team, led by head coach Lee Min-seong, secured a 2-1 comeback victory over China in the semifinal of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan at 3 p.m. on the 30th, powered by goals from Lee Young-jun and Bae Jun-ho. Having advanced to the final, South Korea will compete for the gold medal against the winner of the match between Japan and Uzbekistan.

Head coach Lee Min-seong deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation. Lee Young-jun started as the leading striker, with Uhm Ji-sung, Bae Jun-ho, and Lee Hyun-ju positioned in the second line. The midfield in the third line was handled by Lee Seung-won and Hwang Do-yoon. The back four consisted of Bae Hyun-seo, Shin Min-ha, Kim Ji-soo, and Choi Seok-hyeon. Kim Jun-hong donned the goalkeeper gloves.

In the early stages of the match, while China focused on defense in response to South Korea's European-based attack, South Korea maintained high possession and launched a one-sided offensive. In the 11th minute of the first half, Bae Jun-ho trapped the ball with his chest following a corner kick and shot with his left foot, but the attempt was blocked by the defense, leaving him with regret.

South Korea, which had been dominating the match, was instead struck by a blow from China. In the 23rd minute of the first half, during a Chinese counterattack, Wang Yudong surged into the space behind the defense and calmly shot after trapping a lobbed pass from a teammate with his chest, breaking the net.

After scoring the opening goal, China dropped their line and deployed a compact defensive formation according to their strategy, making it difficult for South Korea to break through.

In a challenging situation, South Korea scored an equalizer. The savior was Lee Young-jun, who had scored a brace in the previous match against Saudi Arabia. In the 33rd minute of the first half, Lee Young-jun leaped high to connect with a corner kick delivered from the left side with a header. Although the Chinese goalkeeper threw his body at the ball, it deflected off the keeper's fingertips and shook the net on the left side. Lee Young-jun displayed confidence by performing an "shoulder shrug celebration," raising both hands above his shoulders.

South Korea maintained control of the match until the end of the first half, which concluded with a 1-1 draw.

South Korea continued to press in the early stages of the second half. In the 7th minute of the second half, Uhm Ji-sung boldly curled a shot with his right foot from outside the box, which was parried by the Chinese goalkeeper. Lee Young-jun, waiting near the goal, immediately picked up the second ball and passed it to the center, but it did not result in a shot due to a miscommunication with a teammate.

While struggling to break through China's compact defense, Choi Seok-hyeon attempted a long-range shot in the 15th minute of the second half, but it flew high over the goal.

China's play became increasingly rough. In the 17th minute of the second half, Hwang Do-yoon was hit hard in the face by an elbow from a Chinese player who was shooting, resulting in bleeding from his nose. Hwang Do-yoon left the field for treatment before returning to the match.

South Korea eventually scored the go-ahead goal with a header from Bae Jun-ho. In the 37th minute of the second half, Uhm Ji-sung crossed into the box, and Bae Jun-ho surged in to shake the net with a header. With this, Bae Jun-ho recorded his first goal of the tournament.

After all five minutes of added time in the second half had elapsed, the match ended with South Korea's thrilling comeback victory.

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*This content was translated by AI.