South Korea’s Olympic-qualifying victory over Korea at the Asian Cup saw them top their group and advance to the quarterfinals. Next up is Shin Tae-yong’s Indonesia.
Hwang Sun-hong’s U-23 national football team defeated Japan 1-0 in their final Group B match of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Asian Cup 2024 at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, on Wednesday, thanks to Kim Min-woo’s early winner from a corner kick in the 30th minute.
Earlier in the day, South Korea had beaten the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China in back-to-back group wins to advance to the quarterfinals early. In the third and final match of the tournament, they faced Japan, who were tied for first place with six points. Both teams, who made a number of changes to their starting lineups, continued their stagnant offense. However, a late goal by Kim Min-woo gave South Korea the victory.
The reason to top the group was clear.
If they beat Japan to top Group B, they would face Group A runner-up Indonesia, and if they finished second in Group B and advanced to the quarterfinals, 안전놀이터 추천 they would face Group A runner-up Qatar. Qatar has the objective power advantage over Indonesia, as well as the host nation advantage. Indonesia is the better opponent.
The top three finishers in the 16-nation tournament will advance directly to the Olympic Games, while the fourth-place finisher will have to play and win a playoff against Guinea, the fourth-place team in the African qualifiers. South Korean soccer has qualified for nine consecutive Olympic Games, starting with Seoul 1988 and ending with Tokyo 2020. It is the world record for most consecutive Olympic appearances.
The No. 1-ranked South Koreans will face No. 2 Shin Tae-yong’s Indonesia, who finished second in Group A (2-1-1, 6 points), in the semifinals at 2:30 a.m. on June 26 at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.
