Young Taeguk Warriors tone it down in 3-0 win over Bahrain

Korea's Lee Han-beom celebrates scoring during a Hangzhou Asian Games group stage match against Bahrain at Jinhua Sports Centre Stadium in Jinhua, China on Sunday. [YONHAP]

The U-24 Korean national team beat Bahrain 3-0 in their final group stage match at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Sunday, reaching the knockout stage with three consecutive wins.

The match at Jinhua Sports Centre Stadium in Jinhua, China was a formality for Korea, who had already booked a spot in the round of 16 as Group E winners.

Head coach Hwang Sun-hong made multiple chances to the starting XI from the match against Thailand on Thursday, resting the likes of Um Won-sang and Seol Young-woo ahead of the knockout stage.

Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain started Sunday’s game for the first appearance in the tournament. He jetted into China on Thursday as PSG allowed him to join the Asiad squad on Wednesday after recovering from injury.

Lee displayed a good performance, making effective passes in the early going, but the young Taeguk Warriors failed to break through the five-strong Bahraini defense and missed a few chances inside the penalty area.

Despite Lee’s impact on the game, manager Hwang substituted him for Goh Young-jun in the 35th minute. According to some reports, the national team agreed with PSG in advance that Lee would only play 30 minutes in the group stage game due to concerns over his recent injury.

Goh got off to a difficult start, struggling to land his passes and punting a corner straight out of play.

Korea failed to open the scoring through the end of the first half for the first time in the tournament, having scored four goals apiece in the first half of the previous two matches.

The young Taeguk Warriors continued to miss multiple opportunities in the second half and did not score until Lee Han-beom found the back of the net with a header in the 61st minute.

Paik Seung-ho then stretched Korea’s lead, smashing in a shot in the 74th minute to make it 2-0. By then the match looked one-sided and Korea added No. 3 in the 84th minute with Goh slotting in a ball inside the penalty area after receiving a perfectly-timed pass from Hong Hyun-seok.

The match ended with a 3-0 victory for Korea, which allowed them to advance to the knockout stage with 16 goals scored and zero conceded from the three group stage wins.

Korea will face Group F runners-up Kyrgyzstan in the round of 16 on Wednesday at the same venue.

The young Taeguk Warriors are aiming for a third successive Asiad gold medal this year, which would give the players an exemption from mandatory military service that could otherwise interfere with their careers.

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