The quarter-finals of the 41st U20 Asian Cup are about to start, and the Korean team will meet the challenge of China. At the pre-match press conference, South Korean coach Eun Jung Kim spoke cautiously, saying that the whole team was ready for hard work.
Looking forward to the competition, Eun Jung Kim said: "We have entered the knockout stage. If we lose, we will go out, so both sides will be very cautious. The teams that can enter the quarter-finals are the best teams and must be fully prepared before the game. " When talking about the comparison between Chinese and Korean football, he said: "I have played in the Super League myself, and it is difficult to compare the football between the two countries. I can only say that both the K League and the Super League need to be improved, and they all have a bright future. Both clubs and national teams are competing and have great potential."
South Korea is undoubtedly the dominant team in the schedule arrangement. Compared with China, the Korean team has an extra day off. Moreover, before the last group match, the South Korean team had scored 6 points, and the final round was played with a relatively relaxed attitude. China played the last game in the group stage until the last minute. Eun Jung Kim said: "Statistically, this may be beneficial to the Korean team, but since everyone has entered the knockout stage, everyone’s mental state may not be affected and they all need to be carefully prepared."
Cui Shuoxian, a player who attended the conference together, was obviously more confident than the head coach at the conference. He said: "The importance of this game is self-evident, which is related to the ticket ownership of the World Youth Championship. More importantly, we just want to beat our opponents. We are now a very good team, the goal is to continue to keep clean sheets, and we hope to continue to play as a team in the next game. "
In the third round of the group stage, South Korea drew 0-0 with Tajikistan, 2 wins and 1 draw and advanced to the quarter-finals. South Korea’s national youth team scored 6 goals and didn’t concede a goal in three group matches, showing solid ability. If the quarterfinals against China can be won, the South Korean team will get a ticket to the Indonesian U20 World Cup in May. In the last U20 World Cup, South Korea finally reached the final, and Li Gangren, who is currently playing in La Liga Mallorca, won the Golden Globe Award.
At U20 level, South Korea and China are far ahead with 13 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses. Since winning 2-0 in the final of Asian Youth Championship in 2004, Korean National Youth has remained unbeaten in 8 games (7 wins and 1 draw) against China National Youth Championship. In addition, when he was a player, Eun Jung Kim, the coach of the Korean team, played in Changsha Jinde, and he was very familiar with China football and China players. Before becoming the coach of South Korea’s U20 team, Eun Jung Kim served as the assistant coach of South Korea’s Olympic Games. No matter from which aspect, the South Korean team is naturally a big favourite for promotion.
After waiting for 9 years, the China team finally returned to the top 8 of the Asian Youth Championship, which is obviously psychologically stress-free. Being able to advance in Japan, Saudi Arabia, the defending champion of the Asian Youth Championship (the coach boldly aims to win the World Youth Championship) and Kyrgyzstan’s death group also shows that China is not without its merits. Perhaps the caution of the South Korean team coach is not all a compliment. In the case of China, the team must find a way to break the dense defense. Li Hao, the goalkeeper of the China team, played wonderfully in three games, and won the best single game in two consecutive games.