With one less day of rest than Italy, the team headed into the semifinals.
The grass at the La Plata Stadium, where the match was played, was in terrible condition.
It was difficult to execute the quick passing counterattacks we had prepared.
On top of that, the Italian players were rougher than expected and committed some sneaky fouls.
[Steady Hwan/MBC commentator]
“This isn’t judo, they keep grabbing me by the collar, they’re being so sneaky and calling fouls like that.”
The referee was lenient on the scuffle, and at times seemed to look the other way.
In the absence of warnings, Italy became increasingly aggressive.
They committed 26 fouls, more than twice as many as we did.
And yet, our players remained calm.
Despite the unsportsmanlike behavior of grabbing their jerseys, pushing their bodies, hitting their faces with their hands and arms, and throwing the ball, they didn’t get caught up in the nerves and focused on the game.
[Seo Hyung-wook/MBC commentator]
“I think the Italians are getting more of those (fouls) because our players aren’t reacting, they’re just being cold.”
Despite his physical limitations, Lee gave it his all, playing one foot in front of the other.
In the first half, Lee ran 11.76 kilometers, the most of any player on either team.
[Kim Eun-jung/U-20 National Team Head Coach]
“A lot of our players have been struggling and not showing it, but they gave everything they could on the field, and I believe they played with no regrets.”메이저사이트
They didn’t lose heart until the very end.
He accepted the outcome, even after a call he could have been unhappy with.
He checked on his teammates who were lying on the ground in disappointment.
He never forgot to thank the fans.
[Kim Jun-hong/U-20 National Team]
“Whenever I got tired, I think I was able to push myself harder by listening to the cheers. I’m so grateful that they came all the way to Korea, and the players will do their best to win the third and fourth place matches, so please give us a lot of support.”
This is MBC News’ Jang Jang-hoon Son.