S. Korea to face Saudi Arabia, Qatar in men's football at Asian Games
Head coah of South Korea's under-23 national men's football team Lee Min-sung, first from left, stands during the national anthem before a friendly match against the United States at the Korea Football Center in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, March 31. Courtesy of Korean Football Association
The three-time defending champions South Korea will face Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the Asian Games men's football tournament this fall.
The draw for the football competition at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games took place in Nagoya, Japan, on Thursday. With 15 teams drawn into three groups of four and one group of three, South Korea ended up in Group D with only two other opponents.
The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the quarterfinals, and teams in Group D will play one fewer match than those in the three other groups.
Coached by Lee Min-sung, South Korea will try to win their fourth consecutive gold medal.
The Asian Games men's football event is an under-23 competition, but teams are each allowed to carry up to three players over the age limit.
Lee unveiled his 23-man squad on July 9, featuring four players who were on South Korea's FIFA World Cup squad in June — including all three over-23 players in Celtic FC midfielder Yang Hyun-jun (24), Swansea City midfielder Eom Ji-sung (24) and Gangwon FC defender Lee Gi-hyuk (26).
Japan, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan and Hong Kong will play in Group A. Group B teams are China, the United Arab Emirates, Iran and North Korea. Vietnam, Uzbekistan, the Philippines and Kuwait will compete in Group C.
The Asian Games opening ceremony is Sept. 19 but the men's football competition will kick off on Sept. 15. The gold medal match is Oct. 3.