'1st place or nothing': football defender wants nothing less than gold
Seol Young-woo speaks to reporters before a training session for the Asian Games men's football gold medal match at a practice field at Huanglong Sports Centre in Hangzhou, China, Friday. Yonhap
South Korean football defender Seol Young-woo came to China for the Asian Games wanting nothing less than the gold medal.
On the eve of the men's football final against Japan, Seol said Friday he is confident he can claim the ultimate prize.
"Every one of us came here with the mindset that it has to be first place or nothing," Seol told reporters before a training session in Hangzhou. The gold medal match will kick off at 8 p.m. Saturday at Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium in the eastern Chinese city.
"Honestly, I think this competition will mean absolutely nothing if we don't finish at the top," Seol added. "Everyone on the team, from the players and coaches to members of the support staff, has worked so hard together to come this far. We have so many reasons why we have to win this gold medal match, and we're pretty confident."
Asked to list some of those reasons, Seol responded: "Our opponent will be Japan. That alone is enough reason."
South Korea and Japan have a long history of rivalry in sports, football being one of the most prominent stages for their battles.
South Korea will try to become the first team to win three consecutive men's football gold medals in Asian Games history. Seol said the depth of his team's squad will be the difference maker in the final.
"The biggest strength of our team is that it doesn't really matter who plays, because you won't notice any difference in the quality of play," Seol said. "We've had a really good rotation since the group stage. So we have much more fuel left in our tanks than other teams. We have no issues with our stamina."
The Asian Games men's football tournament this year is limited to players 24 years or younger, with each nation allowed to carry a maximum three players over that limit. Japan, on the other hand, chose not to select any overage players and brought only under-22 players.
"The fact that they are young isn't really on our mind right now," Seol said. "They're pretty good at passing, and they're fundamentally very sound."
Seol, a 1998 birth, is one of South Korea's three overage players. Unlike most of his Asian Games teammates, he has earned caps for the senior national team, too.
"I've played in some pretty big matches before, and I want to instill confidence in my teammates with some positive talk," Seol said. "We want to make sure our confidence doesn't become arrogance." (Yonhap)