Korea Enters Top 16 at U17 Football
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
South Korea has booked its berth in the sweet 16 at the U-17 World Cup with a 2-0 blanking of Algeria, Monday (KST).
Strikers Lee Jong-ho and Son Heung-min found the target in the first half at Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna, Nigeria, to give the Koreans their second victory in the 24-nation tournament.
Lee Kwang-jong's squad, which finished second in Group F behind Italy, will meet Mexico, the runner-up of Pool B, Thursday, in Bauchi. The Korean team beat Uruguay 3-1 in its first game, but fell to Italy 2-1.
The top two teams from six polls and four third place finishers advance to the round of 16 in the contest.
"We weren't too disappointed after the defeat against Italy. We worked extremely hard in training and that paid off tonight," said Lee.
"We defended very well, scored two early goals and I thought we put in a very professional performance. Now we can go into our next match against Mexico full of confidence. We would like to say a big thank you for the kindness the people of Kaduna have shown us."
It is the second time that the Asian side has reached the knockout stage in the history of the biennial contest.
Since the tournament began in 1985, the Koreans have played in it four times ― 1987, 2003, 2007 and 2009 ― advancing to the quarterfinals in their first ever appearance, when 16 teams competed.
Ahead of the game, the Algerians had a theoretical chance of finishing second in the group if they could defeat Korea by at least a three-goal margin, but that chance was all but dashed shortly after kickoff.
South Korea, which started with a 4-3-3 formation, was fast moving and broke the deadlock 12 minutes into the match.
After stealing the ball, An Jin-beom fed a pass from midfield to Lee, who fired it home from the right side of the area.
In the 22nd minute, Son broke in from the left, beat a defender and unleashed a right-footed shot into the net to make it 2-0.
The Korean team maintained possession of the ball for much of the second half, holding on to its lead without much danger from Algeria. "Korea Republic deserved the win today," said Algeria coach Otmare Ibrir. "They're clearly the best team in the group and undoubtedly the most difficult opponent we came up against."
Mexico lost its first game 2-0 against Switzerland, but beat Brazil 1-0 and Japan 2-0 to advance.