Korea Republic men’s U-23 national team made a giant step towards the knockout phase with a convincing victory over China PR.
 

Lee Youngjun’s brace and Kim Jeonghoon’s heroic saves were enough for Hwang Sunhong’s charges to defeat China 2-0 in their second Group B match of the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup staged at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Friday.
 

On the back of their 1-0 win over the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, Korea Republic kept up their momentum against the Chinese to collect six points from two games. Their passage to the quarter-finals was secured with Japan’s 2-0 victory against UAE later in the evening. The Taegeuk Warriors are set to take on Japan in their final group game at Jassim Bin Hammad Stadium in Doha on Monday, which would decide the winners of the group with the sides level on top with six points and goal difference (+3).
 

These finals also act as the final round of qualifying for Paris 2024 Olympic Games: top three teams qualify directly for the finals, with the fourth placed team to play off against Guinea that finished fourth in the African qualifiers. A total of 16 teams are divided into four groups of four teams, with top two sides from each group advancing to the knockout phase.
 

Hwang made three changes to the side from the opening match: Lee Youngjun, who had came off the bench to score the winner against UAE, started up front in place of An Jaejun; Kang Seongjin replaced Hong Sihoo in three pronged midfield alongside Eom Jisung and Kang Sangyoon.
 

Kim Minwoo and Paik Sanghoon started as defensive midfielders, with the former replacing Lee Kanghee; Cho Hyuntaek, Byeon Junsoo, Seo Myungguan and Hwang Jaewon at the back; and Kim Jeonghoon between the posts.

Korea Republic could have fallen behind in the first half, but a series of fine saves by Kim Jeonghoon kept them alive midway through the opening period. Behram Abduweli intercepted the ball from Seo Myungguan to break into the area with only Kim to beat, although the Jeonbuk custodian did well to deny the colossal forward. Xie Wenneng then saw his curling effort parried away with an acrobatic save by Kim on 24 minutes.
 

After absorbing the waves of attack, Korea Republic converted their first chance of note against the run of play. Hwang Jaewon’s throw-in was received by Lee Youngjun, who laid the ball over to Kang Sangyoon. Kang found Lee lurking into the right side of the area with a neat through ball, and Lee unleashed a powerful effort past Huang Zihao to score his second goal in as many games.
 

Despite taking the slender lead, Korea Republic struggled to organise their defence as centre-back Seo Myungguan was stretchered off following a strong challenge from Ruan Qilong shortly after the restart. Hwang was forced to reshuffle his rearguard as fullback Lee Taeseok came off the bench to replace Seo, with left-back Cho Hyuntaek moving into the centre.
 

Hwang then made a double substitution in an attempt to regain control on the hour mark, bringing Jeong Sangbin and Lee Kanghee on for Kang Seongjin and Paik Sanghoon respectively. But the Taegeuk Warriors still struggled to find their rhythm, as Xie Wenneng intercepted the ball to break into the left side of the area. However, Kim Jeonghoon rose to occasion once more by stopping the point-blank effort from the livewire winger.
 

It was from another quick counter that Korea Republic scored their second goal of the afternoon. Lee Taeseok’s low cross from the left fell into the path of an onrushing Lee Youngjun, who turned around a defender to score his second goal in as many attempts with a clinical finish.

The Chinese fought back to avoid another defeat deep into added time, but Korea Republic held firm to claim another victory without conceding a goal.

2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup

Group B

Korea Republic 2-0 China PR

Goal: Lee Youngjun (34’, 69’)

KOR: Kim Jeonghoon(GK), Cho Hyuntaek, Byeon Junsoo, Seo Myungguan (Lee Taeseok 49’), Hwang Jaewon, Kim Minwoo, Paik Sanghoon (Lee Kanghee 60’), Eom Jisung (Hong Yoonsang 90’+2), Kang Sangyoon, Kang Seongjin (Jeong Sangbin 60’), Lee Youngjun (Jang Siyoung 90’+2)