Korean soccer narrowly avoided its first humiliating defeat to Vietnam in history.
The Republic of Korea U-23 national team, coached by Lee Min-sung, finished fourth after a shocking 1-2 loss to the Vietnam U-23 national team in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup third-place match held on the 24th (Korea time) at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Korea, which has shown a disappointing performance in this tournament, showed poor form in the group stage with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss, and then was completely outclassed by Japan in the semifinals, ending hopes of winning for the first time in six years. Even in the third-place match, where they hoped to finish on a high, they were outplayed by Vietnam and showed only their worst side.
Until the match, the historical record was overwhelmingly in Korea's favor. At the U-23 level it was 6 wins and 3 draws, with no defeats. But the momentum Vietnam showed in this tournament made those numbers meaningless. Coached by Kim Sang-sik, Vietnam advanced to the quarterfinals with three wins in the group stage, defeated the United Arab Emirates and pushed on to the semifinals. They lost to China and missed the final, but judging by the flow of play they were by no means an easy opponent.
Korea started the match in a 4-3-3. Jeong Seung-bae, Jeong Jae-sang and Kim Do-hyeon were up front, Kim Dong-jin, Bae Hyun-seo and Jeong Ji-hoon formed the midfield. The defense was Kang Min-jun, Jo Hyun-tae, Shin Min-ha and Jang Seok-hwan, and Hwang Jae-yoon guarded the goal. Vietnam responded with a 5-4-1 and sat back thoroughly.
Korea had a good start. Right after kickoff Bae Hyun-seo went down while penetrating into the penalty box but the whistle did not blow. In the 13th minute of the first half Kim Do-hyeon's long-range shot flew over the goal.
Vietnam countered. In the 18th minute of the first half, after a free kick, Thai Son's shot missed the goalpost. In the 27th minute, Kim Dong-jin's pass found Jeong Jae-sang, whose back-heel pass was connected by Kang Min-jun into a shot but was stopped by goalkeeper Van Binh.
After missing the chance, Korea's disarray was displayed on the pitch. In the 30th minute of the first half, in a counterattack Nguyen Dinh Bach broke through and the pass he consolidated was finished by Nguyen Quoc Viet to produce the opening goal. Korea seemed to win a penalty in the 34th minute of the first half, but after a VAR review it was overturned and they could not regain momentum. The first half ended with Vietnam leading 1-0.
In the first half Korea dominated possession with 65% but only had three shots (one on target), showing little difference from Vietnam (35% possession, two shots, one on target). At the start of the second half, coach Lee Min-sung substituted Lee Hyun-yong for Jo Hyun-tae, Lee Chan-wook for Jeong Ji-hoon and Kang Seong-jin for Kim Dong-jin, going all out. Coach Kim Sang-sik also responded by replacing Quoc Viet with Nguyen Cong Phuong.
Despite the substitution cards, Lee Min-sung's team could not create proper attacks. Rather, in the 4th minute of the second half they grabbed the ball in Vietnam's half and pushed forward but faced physical defending and produced meaningless shots instead of proper attempts. In the 10th minute of the second half, after a cross from deep, Jeong Jae-sang attempted a header but it went wildly off target.
Vietnam produced a threatening scene in the 18th minute of the second half through a counterattack, but fortunately the ball went out and the chance was lost. Fortunately, Vietnam's concentration wavered, and in the 23rd minute of the second half Korea's Kim Tae-won calmly finished in the scramble to score the equalizer.
But Lee Min-sung's team's worst performance continued to appear on the pitch. In the 26th minute of the second half, from a free kick by Nguyen Dinh Bach, a powerful right-footed shot was allowed, and they began to fall behind again. Both of Vietnam's two shots on target turned into two conceded goals.
Vietnam, who had committed to physical play, saw Nguyen Dinh Bach sent off directly in the 39th minute of the second half. With the numerical advantage they launched a final all-out attack, but even against a sitting Vietnam they continued to attempt only meaningless build-ups from the back. Seven minutes of stoppage time were added in the second half, but only meaningless crosses followed.
They still did not lose the numerical advantage. In the final moments of stoppage time Korea leveled the match 2-2 when Shin Min-ha lightly pushed the ball in during a scramble.
[Photo] Provided by KFA - AFC U23.
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