The challenge is far from over for the South Korea U-20 soccer team. Led by head coach Kim Eun-joong, South Korea will face Israel in the third-place match of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Argentina 2023 at 2:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday at La Plata Stadium in Argentina. Having overturned the “valley generation” and “underdog” label before the tournament to reach the quarterfinals, Kim is determined to end the tournament with a win in the third-place match. 먹튀검증
Despite a disappointing 1-2 loss in the quarterfinals against Italy at the La Plata Stadium on Sept. 9, the Korean players are more determined than ever for the third- and fourth-place matches. “It’s true that the mood of the team sagged after the loss to Italy, but I asked my teammates to be strong,” said captain Lee Seung-won, adding, “We will unite as one and produce good results once again.”
Lee Young-joon, who led South Korea’s attack, choked back tears and vowed to give it their all against Israel. “We don’t have a word for giving up,” he said. We will prepare as thoroughly as we did for the Israel game and win,” he emphasized.
South Korea will look to improve their record in the third-place match. This is South Korea’s first win in the third-place game at a FIFA-organized tournament. South Korea had previously lost in the third-place match at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup and the 1983 U-20 World Cup in Mexico. “The third-place game is our last game of the World Cup,” said Kim. We will prepare well to finish in style,” said Kim.
Israel, who will play in the third-place match, is the favorite before and after the tournament kicks off. The Israelis were the favorite before and after the tournament began, as they caused the hosts to switch from Indonesia to Argentina and then pulled off the upset by knocking off Brazil in the quarterfinals. The tournament’s previous host, Indonesia, was disqualified after Islamic groups objected to Israel’s entry.
After reaching the quarterfinals in their first appearance, the Israelis have a strong squad that finished as runners-up at last year’s UEFA U-19 Championship. The player Kim will need to watch out for most is Dor Turgeman, who has started all of Israel’s games. The striker played a key role in Israel’s run to the quarterfinals, including scoring the game-winning goal against Brazil.