South Korea’s Under-20 World Cup squad, led by head coach Kim Eun-joong, had their hopes of reaching the final dashed after a 1-2 loss to Italy in the semifinals of the U-20 World Cup at La Plata Stadium in Argentina on 메이저사이트 Monday (Sept. 9).
South Korea conceded a goal in the 14th minute of the first half before Lee Seung-won (Gangwon) equalized in the 23rd minute. However, they conceded a free-kick winner to Italy’s Simone Papundi in the 41st minute.
“We played well as we prepared, but I think the result was disappointing because we didn’t score when we had chances,” Kim said at the post-match press conference. “Toward the end, our players’ concentration and physical strength were superior, so we created good chances, but we lost, so I and the players have a lot of regrets,” he said.
The players were equally disappointed. However, Kim emphasized that the players were dedicated to the team and gave more than 100 percent, and encouraged them, saying, “I think they did their best until the end, but they showed tears because they were disappointed.”
Kim hadn’t received much attention before the tournament. Called the “valley generation” without a prominent “star,” there was not much expectation or interest, but the team showed great strength to reach the quarterfinals for the second consecutive tournament.
“The players must have been upset to enter the tournament without high expectations, but they came here with only one goal and proved their worth on the field,” said Kim. “I want to applaud them because they put everything into it.”
Korea will now play Israel for the third or fourth place on Nov. 11. “It will be mentally tough for the players. As the third-fourth place game is the last game, we will recover well so that we can have a good finish. We will play with no regrets.”