After reaching the quarterfinals for the second consecutive time, U-20 head coach Kim Eun-jung credits Ecuador with being a one-man team.
The South Korea U-20 soccer team, led by head coach Kim Eun-jung, advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023 with a 3-2 victory over Ecuador in the round of 16 at the Santiago del Estro Stadium in Argentina on Tuesday (June 2).
Kim Eun-Joong-ho scored his first three goals of the tournament against Ecuador, a team he met in the last four of the tournament, to advance to the quarterfinals for the second straight tournament.
Kim will face Nigeria, who defeated host Argentina, in the semifinals at 2:30 a.m. on Friday at the same venue.
Kim made history by becoming the only Asian team to reach the quarterfinals and the first Korean team to do so in two consecutive tournaments.
After making history, Kim told the Korea Football Association after the match, “The players did a good job from the preparation process. It’s a tournament, so there is no next game. We talked about how today could be our last game, but we prepared well and got a good result.”
Kim, who has actually played against Ecuador, said, “The World Cup is in South America, so we have a home advantage. Their players were also confident and physically strong, which made it difficult for our players,” he said, adding, “I’m grateful that we stayed focused until the end and finished the game well.”먹튀검증
“As I said after the first game, all 21 players move and play as a team. The players who started, the players who came on as substitutes in the second half, the players who didn’t play, and even Park Seung-ho, who was injured, fought as a team to win,” said Kim.
Looking ahead to the next match against Nigeria, Kim said, “We have to focus everything on Nigeria. There is no next game, we will focus on Nigeria. They have one more day off, so we will focus on recovery.”