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Korea advances to quarterfinals of Asian U-23 football tournament

Published: 14 Jan. 2026, 09:16 Updated: 14 Jan. 2026, 17:40

Korean players in red uniform react to their 2-0 loss to Uzbekistan in the teams' Group C match at the Asian Football Confederation U-23 Asian Cup at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium in Riyadh on Jan. 13. [KOREA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION]

Korea reached the quarterfinals of the top Asian men's under-23 football tournament despite a loss in their final group stage match in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

Coached by Lee Min-sung, Korea lost to Uzbekistan 2-0 to close out Group C play at the Asian Football Confederation U-23 Asian Cup at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City Stadium in Riyadh.

Behruzjon Karimov had the match's first goal in the 48th minute, and Saidumarkhon Saidnurullaev doubled Uzbekistan's lead in the 70th minute. Korea held a substantial edge in ball possession but managed just one shot on target, compared to four by Uzbekistan.

Korea finished second in the group with four points from one win, one draw and one loss, while Uzbekistan won the group with seven points on two wins and a draw.

Korea opened the tournament with a goalless draw against Iran last Wednesday and then defeated Lebanon 4-2 three days later.

Moments after losing to Uzbekistan, Korea caught a break when Lebanon, already eliminated following two straight losses, upset Iran 1-0 in their Group C finale. Had Iran won that match, they would have grabbed the second seed in the group with five points and Korea would have been sent home.

As the runner-up in Group C, Korea will face the Group D winner in the quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in Jeddah, or 12:30 a.m. Sunday in Korean time. The Group D teams are China, Australia, Iraq and Thailand, with China sitting in first place at the moment with four points. They will wrap up their group stage action Wednesday.

This is the seventh edition of the U-23 Asian Cup, and Korea's lone title came in 2020.

Yonhap