Young Warriors look for repeat against Ecuador

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Young Warriors look for repeat against Ecuador

Korean U-20 national team players high five after drawing 0-0 with the Gambia at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, Argentina on Sunday. [YONHAP]

Korean U-20 national team players high five after drawing 0-0 with the Gambia at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, Argentina on Sunday. [YONHAP]

 
The Korean U-20 national team, looking to claim their first-ever World Cup title after narrowly missing out at the 2019 tournament, will face Ecuador in the round of 16 on Thursday.
 
Korea reached the knockout stage of the 2023 World Cup as runners-up in Group F with one win and two draws — a 2-1 victory over France, 2-2 draw with Honduras and 0-0 draw with the Gambia.
 
This is the third time in a row that the young Taeguk Warriors have advanced to the round of 16 at the tournament.  
 
Korea’s best XI had enough time to rest ahead of the knockout stage match, as U-20 manager Kim Eun-jung opted to field a weaker squad for the last group stage game against the Gambia on Sunday, since Korea had already secured a place in the round of 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams.
 
Tournament rules stipulate that four teams, determined first by points obtained, goal difference if the points are the same or the number of goals scored if the goal difference is also the same, reach the round of 16 with the six group winners and six runners-up.

 
“It is a shame that I haven’t scored a goal yet,” Kang Sang-yoon, who led the team’s attack and defense from the center of the midfield, said during the team’s training session on Wednesday. “But I am satisfied that we won and drew the games thanks to the goals scored by our players. I am not 100 percent happy about my performance and I feel like I have more to improve.
 
“We have to possess the ball more when we do our build-ups and attack more smoothly through good cohesion.”  
 
Korea will most likely start with the best possible squad against Ecuador, including goalkeeper Kim Jun-hong and defender Choi Seok-hyeon, who were not in action in the game against the Gambia.  
 
Kim Jun-hong missed the match due to yellow card accumulation, while Choi was excluded due to having received two yellow cards in the second group stage game with Honduras.  
 
One key player that will be missing is Park Seung-ho, who returned to Korea after suffering an injury to his right ankle. Park previously scored an equalizer to make it 2-2 against Honduras.  
 
Ecuador, who also reached the knockout stage as runners-up in Group B with two wins and one loss, are not a top favorite, but will still not be an easy opponent.  
 
The South American side were the most prolific team in the group stage among 24 competitors, scoring 11 goals across three matches — nine of which came from a big win against Fiji.  
 
Korea and Ecuador clashed in the semifinals of the 2019 World Cup, with Korea recording a 1-0 win to advance to their first-ever tournament final.  
 
Korea finished as runners-up in that tournament with a 3-1 loss to Ukraine in the final, while Ecuador finished third.  
 
The round of 16 match between Korea and Ecuador will take place at Estadio Unico Madre De Ciudades in Santiago del Estero, Argentina at 6 p.m. on Thursday, or at 6 a.m. on Friday morning in Korea.  
 
If Korea beat Ecuador on Thursday, they will face Nigeria in the quarterfinals.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]
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