Korea beat Japan 2-1 to take Asian Games football gold

Football

Published: 07 Oct. 2023, 23:16 Updated: 08 Oct. 2023, 15:50

Korea beat Japan 2-1 to take Asian Games football gold

The Korean football team celebrates at the final whistle after after beating Japan 2-1 in the final of the men's football tournament at the Hangzhou Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Korea beat Japan 2-1 in the final of the Hangzhou Asian Games on Saturday, coming from behind to take the gold medal and defend their title for a third consecutive Asiad.

Korea fell behind early at HSC Stadium in Hangzhou, China, conceding a goal in the second minute to Japan’s Kotaro Uchino.

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The young Taeguk Warriors bounced back quickly, Jeong Woo-yeong scoring in the 27th minute to tie things back up again.

Cho Young-wook put Korea ahead at the start of the second half, capitalizing on a loose ball in a goalmouth scramble to make it 2-1 and keep the Asian Games dream alive.

Korea had a few more chances throughout the following 20 minutes, before opting for 10 minutes of pure time wasting as the end drew near.

Japan’s attacks intensified in the dying minutes, but Korea held on to take the win and retain the Asian Games title.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in, long expected to be the star of the U-24 team, made it to 72 minutes before being substituted out, but was still kept quiet on the scoresheet.

Jeong Woo-yeong of VfB Stuttgart — Jeong, Lee, Hong Hyun-seok of KAA Gent and Park Kyu-hyun of Dynamo Dresden are the four Korean players with careers in Europe — continued his offensive onslaught, scoring his eighth goal of the tournament against Japan to claim the golden boot.

With the win, Korea take the Asian Games title for a sixth time following victories in 1970, 1978, 1986, 2014, 2018 and 2023. The two most recent wins were both 2-1 against Japan.

A gold medal at the Asian Games also earns every member of the Korea squad an exemption from Korea’s mandatory military service.

For athletes, this can prove a life-changing prize, as it leaves them free to explore international careers without having to return to Korea to complete their military service.

For football players in particular, operating in a sport with personal contracts and regular transfers rather than drafts and free agency, the chance to negotiate contracts without the shadow of an enforced interlude of up to two years in the future can change their entire careers.

Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min and Bayern Munich center-back Kim Min-jae both gained their mandatory military service exemptions from the 2018 Asian Games.

With the Asian Games now complete, all members of the squad will immediately return to their regular clubs. The Games took place outside of a FIFA international break, meaning that not only Lee, Jeong, Hong and Park had to leave their European clubs, but all the K League players are also currently absent from the ongoing local season.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]