Byun Sung-hwan’s youngsters are showing off their talents on the Asian stage.
Byun Sung-hwan’s U-17 national team has booked its place in the quarterfinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-17 Asian Cup 2023 with two straight wins in its group stage in Pathum Thani, Thailand. A 6-1 win over Qatar in the first match on Sept. 16 was followed by a 4-0 victory over Afghanistan on Sept. 19. Iran’s 0-0 draw with Qatar on the same day left Korea with six points, Iran with four points and third-place Qatar with one point, meaning that regardless of the outcome of the third match, Korea will qualify for the quarterfinals, which are awarded to the first and second-place finishers in Groups A through D, respectively.
The U-17s have been playing a different kind of soccer in this tournament. Aggressively pushing forward throughout the game and shaking up opposing defenses with flashy patterned plays is a style we haven’t seen much of in Korean soccer. It’s standard for South Korea to dominate games on the Asian stage, but rarely has the team played such fluid, colorful soccer.
The national team has scored 10 goals in two games. They have scored the most goals in the tournament. In terms of shots on goal, they have attempted a total of 32, with 16 in both games. In terms of ball possession, they had 70.5% in Game 1 and 63.5% in Game 2. In addition to their individual prowess, the two or three players’ cohesive attacking patterns left opposing defenses helpless.
The current U-17 national team has been dubbed the “Golden Generation” by soccer officials. Out of the 23 players on the roster, 19 are from K League clubs, and their talent and potential has been widely praised. In fact, the team won an exhibition game against the Suwon Samsung B team before traveling to Thailand. No matter how good they are, it’s not easy for players who are only in their first or second year of high school to win against a professional B team, which is why the Byeonsung Hwanhoe players are so competitive.
At stake in this tournament is a spot in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in November and December. They need to make it to the quarterfinals to qualify.
Byun’s goal before the tournament was to win. Based on the first two rounds, 메이저사이트 it looks like they’re on track to do just that. South Korea will play their final group game against Iran on Nov. 22. A draw would be enough to secure first place and a spot in the quarterfinals. “Our basic style of play will never change,” said Byun. “Our basic style of play will never change. We’re going to play hard and we’re going to get results,” said Byun. “As a coach, my first goal is to qualify for the World Cup, and my final goal is to win the Asian Cup for the first time in 21 years, both as a team and individually.