"There is a reason."

The Japan Under-17 (U-17) national team drew 1-1 against Vietnam in the 'AFC U17 Asian Cup Group B second match' held on the 8th at the Saudi Arabia Taif Okad Sport Club Stadium. With one win and one draw, Japan remains at the top of the group but failed to advance to the quarterfinals early.

Japan took a 1-0 lead with Yoshida's opening goal in the 13th minute of the first half. Up until stoppage time in the second half, Japan maintained the lead, making victory likely. However, in the 51st minute of the second half, a penalty kick was awarded. Vietnam's Tran Ja Bao successfully converted the equalizing penalty, bringing the match back to square one.

There is a player who has been particularly talked about in Korea. Although he sat on the bench during the match against Vietnam, forward Dani Daichi (17) did not play. The tall forward, who is 184 cm, scored multiple goals against Qatar last year. An interesting point is this player's background.

Dani's background has drawn more attention than his player career. This is because his father is singer Kim Jeong-min. Kim married Japanese Dani Rumiko in 2006. Dani takes after his mother's surname. Dani Daichi's Korean name is known to be Kim Do-yun.

Kim Jeong-min has three sons. The eldest, Kim Tae-yang, is playing as a soccer player in Korea. When parents have different nationalities, their children can possess dual citizenship. Therefore, there is no issue for Dani Daichi to play as a member of the Japanese national team.

Actually, Dani played in the FC Seoul youth team until the 2nd year of middle school, then played for Korea's age-group national teams before moving to Japan for further studies and subsequently joining the adult national team. This situation can be considered quite unique. Since Yoshida has scored three goals in two matches that he has played, Dani's chances of starting are low.

Meanwhile, Korea lost 0-1 in the first match against Indonesia but defeated Afghanistan 6-0. There is also a possibility that Korea and Japan will meet in the quarterfinals. As the first and second places of each group are crossed, there is a high likelihood of them facing each other starting from the quarterfinals, which is garnering interest in various ways.

As interest in Dani grew in Korea, Japanese media quickly responded. Japan's 'Soccer Digest' emphasized, "Dani wanted to play in Japan after playing in Korea. And he was already a tall and outstanding player since middle school, so in the end, it's to Japan's advantage."

In fact, Korean netizens reacted by expressing respect for Dani's choice. One netizen commented, "There will be various issues, such as the military service. I hope he becomes a good player on the Japanese national team. There will be a great story in the future."

Japanese netizens also reacted to the articles about Dani. One netizen claimed, "There must be a reason for not choosing Korea. Looking ahead a few years, it makes sense." Another netizen left a somewhat significant remark, saying, "Since his father is Korean, there must be a reason for choosing Japan."

[OSEN]