"Even Korea Wasn't Easy to Beat": China Poured Praise Despite Loss... "Opened Korea's Goal for the First Time in 40 Years" [Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games]

*This content was translated by AI.

Although China was eliminated from the final after suffering a comeback loss to Korea, local evaluations in China were surprisingly positive.

The South Korean U-23 national football team, led by coach Lee Min-seong, secured a 2-1 comeback victory over China in the men's football semifinal of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held on the 30th of last month at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan.

With this result, Korea advanced to the final, leaving just one step remaining for a fourth consecutive championship title. The opponent in the final is the "eternal rival," Japan. Japan joined the final after defeating Uzbekistan in the semifinal.

Korea will challenge for its fourth consecutive gold medal in men's football at the Asian Games, following its victories at the 2014 Incheon, 2018 Jakarta-Palembang, and 2022 Hangzhou Games.

However, the semifinal victory was by no means easy.

China opened Korea's goal first. Wang Yudong did not miss a counter-attack opportunity in the 22nd minute of the first half, scoring the opening goal.

From China's perspective, it was a special goal. It had been a full 40 years since the 1986 Seoul Games that China had scored against Korea in men's football at the Asian Games.

Korea immediately launched a counter-attack. Just 11 minutes after conceding the first goal, Lee Young-jun (Grasshopper) equalized with a header, and Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City) scored the winning goal in the 82nd minute of the second half to complete the 2-1 victory.

It was a nail-biting match. Even in local China, there were continued assessments that the team had performed well against Korea, a strong favorite for the championship.

China Youth Daily and Zhongqing.com focused on this semifinal after the match, stating, "The Chinese men's football team at the Asian Games unfortunately lost to Korea, but there was still something surprising."

First, they attributed significance to Wang Yudong's opening goal. The media outlet stated, "Although we lost the game, we also had a harvest," emphasizing that "the goal scored by Wang Yudong in the 22nd minute of the first half was the first score recorded by China against Korea in men's football at the Asian Games since the 1986 Seoul Asian Games."

Prior to this match, China had met Korea five times at the Asian Games and lost all of them. The last time China scored against Korea also required looking back a full 40 years.

China Youth Daily and Zhongqing.com also pointed out that Korea's strength in this tournament was formidable.

The media outlet reported, "Defending champion Korea achieved a three-peat in men's football at the Asian Games from the 2014 Incheon Games to the 2022 Hangzhou Games," adding, "Korean players place great importance on the tournament due to military service benefits associated with winning the Asian Games, and their will to win is strong."

It also evaluated that the Korean national team included many players competing in Europe and possessed top-tier strength in both offense and defense for this tournament.

Nevertheless, the local perspective was that China did not get completely overwhelmed one-sidedly.

The media outlet reported, "China was not completely on the defensive throughout the match and showed its own characteristics."

It further assessed, "Korea also did not win easily on this day."

Antonio Gam, a Spanish coach leading the Chinese U-23 national team, expressed satisfaction with the content of the match.

He said, "We engaged in a head-on battle against Korea, which has many good players competing in Europe, and our team showed a very high level," adding, "The result is sad, but I am proud of the team."

China Youth Daily and Zhongqing.com reported, "Even if the chance of winning against Korea was only 1%, the players put in 100% effort and fought until the final whistle blew."

It further emphasized, "Although we could not create a miracle, we showed hope for Chinese football."

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*This content was translated by AI.