Kim Eun-joong, who sets the goal of ‘Again 2019’ and participates in the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, begins a full-fledged journey. The first opponent is France, the world’s strongest.
The Korean U-20 soccer team, led by coach Kim Eun-joong, will play the first round of Group F of the group stage of the tournament against ‘Art Soccer’ France at Mendoza Stadium in Mendoza, Argentina at 3:00 am on the 23rd (Korean time).
Kim Eun-joong is tied in Group F with France, Honduras and Gambia. If we pass the first game well against France, we will play the second game against Honduras at 6:00 am on the 26th and the third game against Gambia at 6:00 am on the 29th. All three group stage matches will be held at Mendoza Stadium.
France is currently the strongest team in world football. He won the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In the Qatar World Cup final held last year, Argentina lost after a close match that went to a penalty shootout and achieved runner-up. The FIFA ranking is also second after Argentina. It is 25 steps higher than Korea, which is ranked 27th.
France also left a distinct mark in the U-20 World Cup. I won the championship once in 2013 and reached the semifinals in 2012. In the history of the national team, Korea trails France with 1 win, 3 draws and 4 losses.
In the U-20 World Cup, Korea and France met twice in the group stage in 1997 (2-4 loss) and 2011 (1-3 loss), and Korea lost both.
Still, there is no need to be discouraged. Korea has many good memories from the U-20 World Cup. While the 2021 competition was not held due to Corona 19, the runner-up myth was written in the 2019 competition right before. At that time, Lee Kang-in (Mallorca) won the ‘Golden Ball’, which is awarded to the player who performed the most outstandingly in the tournament.
Kim Eun-joong’s 21 Taegeuk Warriors are determined to hit another ‘happy accident’ just like their seniors four years ago. There is no clear ace like Kang-in Lee, but he is aiming for another miracle with strong pressure and quick switching between offense and defense.
The most noteworthy player is center back Kim Ji-soo (Seongnam), who is expected to be the ‘second Kim Min-jae’. Kim Ji-soo, who recently received a love call from Brentford in the English Premier League (EPL), is a tall defender with a height of 192 cm. He is firmly guarding the back gate of the national team while holding the center of the four-back defensive line. FIFA’s official website also introduced Kim Ji-soo as Korea’s key player while introducing the first match between Korea and France in Group F.
In offense, we have high expectations for Lee Seung-jun (Seoul). Lee Seung-jun, who is famous as the son of Lee Eul-yong (general manager of the Yongin City Football Center), who played a key role in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup semifinals, scored a goal in a practice game against the Sao Paulo amateur team Winners FC on the 14th during the training period in Brazil.메이저사이트
Winger Kang Seong-jin has played the most K-League games (50) among the national team players. In July of last year, he was first selected for the A national team led by former coach Paulo Bento and scored a goal in the second leg of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) between Hong Kong and Hong Kong.
Coach Kim Eun-joong, who moved to Argentina, the ‘land of the battle’ after training in Brazil, said, “I have prepared well so far. He also has good players. I will prepare to be in the best condition on the day of the game.” I will do my best to show a good game so that the players can reciprocate.”
Meanwhile, in the official opening game of the tournament held at the Santiago del Estero Stadium in Santiago del Estero, Argentina on the 21st, ‘host country’ Argentina defeated Uzbekistan 2-1. Argentina, which has won the most championships in the tournament (1979, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2007), is aiming for a seventh championship in its career.