U-24 squad lose 1-0 to China in second friendly

The Korean U-24 team poses for a photo ahead of a friendly against China at Jinhua Sports Centre Stadium in Jinhua, China on Monday. [KOREA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION]

The Korean U-24 team lost 1-0 to China in a friendly at Jinhua Sports Centre Stadium in Jinhua, China on Monday, returning home with one win and one loss over a two-game series.

The U-24 team, which had managed a 3-1 victory over China at the same venue on Thursday, failed to end their two-game tune-up ahead of the Asian Games on a good note, recording the team’s first loss against China since November 2012.

The U-24 team this year takes the place of the more traditional U-23, as the age limit has been raised for this year's Asiad due to the tournament's one-year postponement caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The young Taeguk Warriors failed to display their best performance in the beginning of Monday's game, struggling to adapt to a very physical Chinese squad.

Forward Cho Young-wook suffered a shoulder injury and went off the pitch after dueling for the aerial ball with Wang Haijian in the 18th minute.

Korea managed multiple shots in the first half despite that, but still failed to break through.

China found an opportunity with a counterattack and opened the scoring with Sun Qinhan’s goal in the last minute of the first half. That shot was China’s only shot on target during the half.

China’s tough challenges continued in the second half.

Korea lost another player to injury after Wu Shaocong brought down midfielder Goh Young-jun in the 54th minute.

Lee Jae-ik replaced Goh in the 60th minute and looked to score that much-needed equalizer with the rest of the squad, but failed to get on the scoresheet and the match ended with Korea down 1-0.

This is not the first time Korea has dealt with an aggressive approach from China.

Midfielder Um Won-sang, who scored a brace in Thursday’s game, also picked up an ankle injury during that match, forcing him to return to Korea early.

“It is a shame that some of the players have been injured,” U-24 manager Hwang Sun-hong said after Monday’s game. “We might face similar situations in the Asian Games. I am hoping that the players’ injuries are not severe.”

Hwang may have to replace some of the injured players for the final Asiad squad, which he will announce with three wildcard picks shortly before the event starts on Sept. 23 in Hangzhou, China.

Korea has won gold at the past two Asian Games, granting the involved players military exemptions, including regular captain of the senior team Son Heung-min in 2018.

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