Korea exits from FIFA U-17 World Cup
.jpg?w=728)
South Korea’s Lee Seung-woo, right, and Lee Sang-min leave the ground after suffering a 2-0 defeat against Belgium at the FIFA U-17 World Championship’s round of 16 match at the La Portada stadium in La Serena, Chile, Wednesday. / Yonhap
S. Korea defeated
by Belgium 0-2
By Nam Hyun-woo
South Korea was eliminated from the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup after suffering a 0-2 loss to Belgium in a round of 16 match, Thursday.
At Estadio La Portada in La Serena, Chile, Belgium’s Jorn Vancamp and Matthias Verreth scored to give the young Taeguk Warriors their sole defeat in their Chile campaign, frustrating South Korea’s bid to make it into quarterfinals for the third time.
Expectations were high as the young South Koreans advanced to the knockout stage after displaying an unprecedented group stage result of beating Brazil and Guinea and tying with England without allowing a goal.
During the match, South Korea displayed pacey, aggressive and controlling football, but that was not sharp enough to tear apart Belgium’s solid defense. The biggest chance for the South Koreans was Lee Seung-woo’s penalty attempt, but the FC Barcelona juvenile player sent his shot low and left to goalkeeper Jens Teunckens, allowing him to make an easy save.
The Belgians had a comfortable start just 11 minutes into the game. While the South Koreans were at the front line for a free kick set piece, Vancamp exploited the space behind them and beat two defenders with speed and goalkeeper Ahn Joon-soo with a precise finish.
To level the game, the South Koreans mostly possessed the ball and built their attack with quick passes, but well-organized Belgian defenders were defiant in the box and lethal when they delivered outlet passes.
In the 67th minute, another counterattack saw the Belgians double the lead. After Lee Seung-woo and other attackers’ tiki-taka play in front of the Belgian box was intercepted, the Belgians sent the ball to the opposite goal with just two passes, with the second one creating an angle to Verreth on the right flank alone. The agile attacker quickly beat defenders and smashed a powerful strike into the top-left corner.
Four minutes later, a killer pass found Oh Se-hun at the front line and gave him a one-on-one situation, but Laurent Lemoine brought Oh down in the box and was shown a red card. It was reminiscent of the 2014 World Cup group game between the two countries, in which Belgium’s Steven Defour was sent off but his side clinched a 1-0 win. As Lee missed the shot, the result was also repeated.
The loss gave South Korea the first exit in the round of 16 in its U-17 World Cup saga. So far the country has qualified for the U-17 World Cup five times and advanced from the knockout stage three times. The South Koreans made it into the quarterfinals in the 1987 event and the 2009 event, when Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min played for the team.