Korea Republic U-20 men’s national team have got off to a winning start in their bid to end an 11-year title drought at the continental finals.

Kim Eunjung’s charges cruised to a 4-0 win against Oman in their Group C opener of the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup at the JAR Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Thursday. Kim Yonghak (Portimonense) opened the scoring on the half-hour mark, before Sung Jinyoung (Korea University) scored in each half. Kang Sungjin (FC Seoul) then made it 4-0 deep into added time, as the Taegeuk Warriors made a giant step towards the quarter-finals.

The men in red struggled to find a breakthrough against the stubborn Omani rearguard in the opening period, although Cho Youngkwang did manage to create a handful of chances from the right flank.

The deadlock was finally broken after 30 minutes, when Lee Seungwon intercepted the ball to lay it over to an onrushing Kim Yonghak on the right side. There was enough space and time for Kim to unleash a left-footed shot that went straight into the back of the net.

The goal lit up the Korean attack, as they capitalised on another mistake from the opposition four minutes later. Kim Gyeonghwan fed a quick long ball into the edge of the area, where Sung fired home with an audacious effort to double his side’s advantage.

Korea Republic picked up where they had left off, as the second half got underway. 13 minutes after the break, Lee Seungwon found Kim Yonghak marauding on the right channel, who then broke into the area to send an inviting cross for Sung to score his second goal of the afternoon.

They rounded off the comprehensive win with a fourth in the second-half added time, as Kang Sungjin lurked into the right side of the area to curl an unstoppable effort into the back of the net.

Having opened their campaign with a morale-boosting win, Korea Republic take on Jordan on Sunday before facing Tajikistan in their final group game next Wednesday. 16 participating teams in the 2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup are competing in the group stage, with four group winners and four runners-up to advance to the quarter-finals. Korea Republic must reach the semi-finals in this competition in order to qualify for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup that takes place in Malaysia in May.

2023 AFC U-20 Asian Cup

Group C

Korea Republic 4-0 Oman

Scorers: Kim Yonghak 30’, Sung Jinyoung 34’, 58’, Kang Sungjin 90’+1

KOR: Kim Joonhong, Bae Seojoon, Hwang Intaek (Choi Seokhyeon 74’), Kim Jisoo, Cho Youngkwang, Kim Gyeonghwan, Bae Junho (Lee Junsang 74’), Kang Sangyoon, Lee Seungwon (Kim Heeseung 78’), Kim Yonghak (Kang Sungjin 64’), Sung Jinyoung (Lee Youngjun 64’)