“We need to give 100% against the Gambia. We will prepare to play at our best.”
The South Korea U-20 football team drew 2-2 with Honduras in their second Group F match of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023 at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, Argentina on 26 June (KST).
South Korea had a numerical advantage after David Ochoa was sent off in the first half, but conceded early in the second half to go 0-2 down. Kim Yong-hak and Park Seung-ho scored back-to-back goals to earn a 2-2 draw, but it was quite disappointing to have to settle for a point without capitalising on their numerical advantage.안전놀이터
To make matters worse, South Korea had to deal with the accumulation of cautions for their goalkeeper Kim Jun-hong, the sending off of key defender Choi Seok-hyun, and an injury to the equaliser, Park Seung-ho. National team coach Kim Eun-joong couldn’t smile.
“We had the numerical advantage, but it was difficult to score as Honduras dropped their line a lot,” Kim told the Korea Football Association. We had some good chances, but we weren’t calm enough. We had a lot of scoring chances, which was unfortunate,” he said.
“Park Seung-ho’s injury was unexpected, so we have to wait and see. But we have our resources, so we won’t think too much about it. We will prepare well for the next game.”
South Korea’s final opponents are the Gambia, who were the first to qualify from Group F after beating both Honduras and France. The Gambia’s attacking prowess, which has seen them score more than two goals in every game, will be a challenge for South Korea, who have a large defensive leakage.
However, they cannot afford to back down. If South Korea lose to the Gambia, their chances of qualifying for the round of 16 could be in jeopardy, depending on the results of their games against France and Honduras. The Gambia must go into the game with a win-at-all-costs attitude.
“We need to give 100 per cent against the Gambia, so recovery is the most important thing right now,” said Kim. We have two days left and we will recover well so that we can play at our best,” said Kim.