‘Will it be different if Lee Kang-in comes?” Hwang Seon-hong-ho defeats ‘underdogs’ Myanmar with 1-goal lead until the 80th minute, then wins 3:0 with two last-minute goals… ‘U-23 Asian Cup main draw’

South Korea’s Sun Hong-ho Hwang has secured her country’s final qualification spot for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a 3-0 win over Myanmar. Although the Koreans were held to just one goal after the midway point of the second half, they scored two goals in the final minute of the second half to secure the three-goal victory.

Goals from Baek Sang-hoon, Jeon Byung-kwan and Oh Jae-hyuk helped the Korea U-22 men’s national team to a 3-0 victory over Myanmar in their third Group B qualifier for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup 2024 at the Changwon Football Center on Wednesday afternoon.

South Korea, who needed only a draw to qualify for the knockout stages, secured the top spot in Group B with two wins and six points to advance to the Asian Cup. Myanmar, on the other hand, had their hopes of qualifying for the Asian Cup dashed with a 1-1 draw with Kyrgyzstan (one point).
South Korea will now advance to the U-23 Asian Cup in Qatar next April. The Asian Cup serves as the final Asian qualifier for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 U-23 Asian Cup will be contested by the 11 top-ranked teams from each of the 11 groups in the qualifiers (Groups A through K), the top four second-ranked teams, and host Qatar. The winner of the Asian Cup, the runner-up and the third-placed team will qualify directly for the Paris Olympics. The fourth-placed team will play a playoff against Guinea, the fourth-placed team in the African final qualifiers, with the winner earning a spot in Paris.

U-23 Asian Cup qualification secured with 3-0 win in a high-scoring, high-pressure match… But will it be different with Lee Kang-in?
In fact, it was a game where there was more pressure to score than to lose. Earlier, South Korea got off to a shaky start with a 0-2 loss to Qatar, but luckily for them, the Asian Cup hosts were able to breathe a sigh of relief as the result was not reflected in the rankings. They won the second match against Kyrgyzstan and the third against Myanmar, and eventually finished first. However, the one-goal victory against Kyrgyzstan was criticized by many. Of course, it is difficult to make an accurate comparison because it is an adult national team, but Kyrgyzstan is ranked 97th in the FIFA rankings, which is a huge difference from Korea (28th). A one-goal victory against Kyrgyzstan was definitely a disappointing result. In the match against Myanmar, which was considered the “weakest team” on the day, Korea was under great pressure to score multiple goals. It was also a simple comparison as Qatar swept Myanmar 6-0. Still, it was an achievement to get a result that qualified them for the main round. Moreover, Hwang Sun-hong is not at full strength at the moment. First and foremost, the team is missing Lee Kang-in, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain. With Lee recently recovered from injury and on the verge of a comeback, we can expect an even better performance from the team. The sharpness of the flank attack was already evident on the day, so having Lee in the midfield could make South Korea even stronger.

South Korea will now look to continue their strong showing at the Asian Cup and qualify for their 10th consecutive Olympic Games, dating back to Seoul 1988. South Korea has already qualified for nine consecutive Olympic Games, the first country in the world to do so, from Seoul 1988 to Tokyo 2020.

South Korea lined up in a 4-3-3 formation, just like they did in the first game against Qatar and the second game against Kyrgyzstan. Kim Shin-jin (FC Seoul) was deployed as the frontline striker, while Uhm Ji Sung (Gwangju FC) and Jung Sang-bin (Minnesota FC) led the team’s attack as wingers on either flank. Lee Hyun-ju (Wesen Wiesbaden) and Baek Sang-hoon (FC Seoul) supported the attack in the midfield as attacking midfielders, while Kwon Hyuk-kyu (Celtic FC) played as a defensive midfielder to coordinate the offense. Lee Tae-seok (FC Seoul), Son Seong-kwan (Bucheon FC), Cho Wi-je (Busan I-Park), and Park Chang-woo (Jeonbuk Hyundai) formed the back line, while Shin Song-hoon (Gimcheon Sangmu) donned the goalkeeping gloves.

Myanmar countered with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Orkar Naing was up front, with Khun Kyaw Zin Htay, Zaw One Thein, and Htay Htay Aung in the second line. Ar Kar Kiau and Yan Kiau Soe coordinated the attack and defense in the midfield, while the back four was Nyan Lin Hatte, Te Hain Soe, Rat Wai Phhone, and Khaw Thet Paing. In goal was Pie Pio Thu.
First half
South Korea opened the scoring in the first five minutes of the first half. Lee Tae-seok exchanged 2-on-1 passes with Uhm Ji-sung on the left flank and managed to penetrate. He then sent a cross to the center of the field, where Baek Sang-hoon, who was rushing into the box, headed it home for the first goal.

With a goal so early in the first half, it was easy for South Korea to assume they were going to win by a landslide. However, after the goal, Korea struggled to break through Myanmar’s tight defense. Jung Sang-bin and Uhm Ji Sung shook the Myanmar defense from time to time from the flanks, but they were unable to connect with a decisive finish in the central area.

With more ball possession, South Korea had another chance in the 18th minute of the second half. A cross from the right was met by Kim Shin-jin in the box, but her header went over the crossbar. Kim Shin-jin used her height to dominate the air throughout the match, but was unable to capitalize.

The game was completely dominated by South Korea, with Myanmar rarely getting into the Korean zone. Lee Tae-sung and Uhm Ji-sung worked well together on the left side and boldly attacked Myanmar’s right flank. In the 24th minute, South Korea had another great chance. Normal Bin received a roving pass from the back area and attempted a left-footed shot from 5.5 meters in front of the goal, but it went just wide of the left side of the goal. Then, in the 27th minute, Um Ji Sung, who received a pass from Lee Hyun Joo, sent a non-stop cross from the left side with his left foot, but it went just wide of the goal.

The chemistry between Um Ji-sung and Lee Tae-seok continued to shine. In the 34th minute, following a cross from Lee Tae-seok, Baek Sang-hoon hit a right-footed shot from the center of the penalty area that was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 37th minute, Jung Sang-bin worked Myanmar’s left flank to perfection before sending a low, quick cross into the center of the box that didn’t find the feet of an onrushing Korean player. Still, Jung Sang-bin’s cross was threatening enough. As South Korea continued to push forward, Uhm Ji Sung had a great chance on the counterattack in the 40th minute. He dribbled down the left side of the penalty box, folded, and fired a low left-footed shot that went just wide of the far post.

With two minutes of first-half stoppage time, Myanmar’s concentration wavered further. Normal Bin received a pass from Park Chang-woo and fired a very powerful right-footed shot from the right diagonal of the penalty box that was saved by the goalkeeper. With three minutes of first-half stoppage time approaching, South Korea failed to capitalize on a final right corner kick. The first half ended with South Korea leading 1-0. In the first half, South Korea attempted seven shots, three of which were on target. Myanmar, on the other hand, did not get a single shot off in the first half. South Korea also led in corner kicks with five to Myanmar’s zero.

Second half
In the second half, South Korea continued to dominate the game with complete control of the midfield. Coach Hwang Sun-hong took Park Chang-woo off at the start of the second half and replaced him with Min Kyung-hyun, but the Koreans were unable to break through Myanmar’s tight defense. Myanmar made a few mistakes, but Korea was unable to capitalize on their chances.

In the seventh minute of the second half, Uhm Ji Sung hit a right-footed curling shot from Hoe Shim in the diagonal area on the left side of the penalty area, the so-called “Son Heung-min zone,” but it went just wide of the goal. Then, in the eighth minute of the second half, Lee Tae-seok’s cross was met with a left-footed volley from a no-mark opportunity by Jung Sang-bin, but the shot went over the crossbar.

Myanmar also made a tactical change with a substitution. In the seventh minute of the second half, Myanmar took off Khun Kyaw Zin Htin and Khar Khar Kyaw and brought on Aung Myo Kant and Ran San Aung. After being pinned back and forced to defend, Myanmar slowly began to fight back, and their first shot on target came in the 10th minute of the second half. After breaking up a South Korean pass, Aung Myo Kant attempted a long-range shot from about 45 meters out, but his effort went wide left.

As Myanmar tried to attack a bit, the holes in the defense began to open up, especially when Korea continued to attack the Myanmar flanks and crossed into the center, but the finishing was lacking. In the 14th minute, Kwon Hyuk-kyu connected with a cross from the penalty box, but it was cleared off the line. In the 17th minute, Kim Shin-ji was in contention after a header but failed to finish 메이저놀이터.

Myanmar tried again, this time on a counterattack after a South Korean corner was cleared. The Korean and Myanmar attackers and defenders faced each other 4-on-4. Orkar Naing then took a shot from the right side of the penalty box, but it was blocked by goalkeeper Shin Song Hoon. Myanmar took off Yan Kiau Soe and Orkar Naing in the 19th minute of the second half and brought on Naung Naung Soe and Chet Aye at the same time. South Korea continued to play the ball around in the back area without making any forward passes for about three minutes from the 21st minute of the second half.

In the 30th minute of the second half, Min Kyung-hyun was cautioned for a foul on Zaw Win Thein to stop a counterattack. It was South Korea’s first yellow card of the match. Lee Hyun-joo received a cross from the back area and attempted a non-stop right-footed shot from the right side of the box, but it went over the crossbar. In the 33rd minute, Hwang Sun-hong made a change to his attacking tactics by removing Uhm Ji-sung and Kim Shin-jin and bringing on Oh Jae-hyuk and Hong Yun-sang. Hong Yun-sang made an immediate impact on the left side of the field, but was ruled offside. Myanmar also had a chance in the 35th minute when Htin Hatte Aung hit a shot that went straight at the keeper. Oh Jae-hyuk then had a one-on-one opportunity with the keeper, but he was unable to convert.

As the game entered the 40th minute, it was time to knock on the door. South Korea finally got their second goal. After a neat penetrating pass from Oh Jae-hyuk, Jung Sang-bin sent in a short cross from the left side of the penalty box. Jeon Byung-kwan, who was rushing into the box, connected with a sliding shot that shook the Myanmar goal. Korea took a 2-0 lead.

It wasn’t the end of the story. In the 43rd minute of the second half, Hwang Sun-hong made a decision to conserve his strength by taking off Jung Sang-bin, who had the best move of the night. Earlier, in the 42nd minute, Htin Hatte Aung had a shot on goal that was ruled offside. With four minutes of second-half stoppage time, South Korea’s third goal came in the second minute of second-half stoppage time. Hong Yun-sang sent in a cross from the left, which Heo Yul neatly flicked back for Oh Jae-hyuk to connect with a left-footed finish in the bottom left corner of the goal to split the Myanmar net. Korea took a 3-0 lead. In the final minutes of the game, Heo Yul’s fierce shot hit the crossbar. If it had gone in, it could have been 4-0, but the game ended with a 3-0 South Korean victory after four minutes of second-half stoppage time.