Men's, women's football teams advance to semifinals
South Korea's Lee Ju-yeong scores team's third goal during the men's football quarterfinal match between Korea and Vietnam at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Mizuho Park Rugby Stadium, Japan, Sept. 25. Yonhap
NAGOYA, Japan — South Korea advanced to the semifinals in both men's and women's football tournaments at the Asian Games on Friday.
The men's squad, coached by Lee Min-sung, defeated Vietnam 4-0 in the quarterfinals at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Rugby Field in Nagoya, central Japan.
The under-23 Taegeuk Warriors are now two wins away from delivering the country's fourth consecutive gold medal in men's football.
In Wednesday's semifinals at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, 140 kilometers west of Nagoya, South Korea will meet the winner of the China-Thailand quarterfinal duel set for Saturday.
Grasshopper forward Lee Young-jun, who joined the team Monday due to his commitment with the Swiss club, got the start and scored a brace -- in the 15th minute and then in the 81st minute.
Center back Kim Ji-soo had the team's second goal in the 77th minute, with Kim Myeong-jun capping off the win with the fourth goal in the 88th minute. Kim has now scored in all three South Korean matches so far.
In the women's quarterfinals, South Korea beat Uzbekistan 6-3 at Nagai Stadium behind Yun Su-jeong's hat trick.
The Taegeuk Ladies, coached by Shin Sang-woo, are chasing South Korea's first-ever Asiad women's football gold. The country has won three bronze medals so far.
Next up for South Korea will be Japan, who beat the Philippines 4-0 in the quarterfinals Friday. The South Korea-Japan showdown will be Tuesday at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa in Fukuroi, about 100 kilometers east of Nagoya.
Yun opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a header. Uzbekistan drew level four minutes later, before Choe Yu-ri put South Korea ahead again in the 17th minute.
Yun and Choe each scored in the final moments of the first half, as South Korea built a 4-1 lead.
South Korea's Jang Selgi was charged with an own goal in the 64th minute, and then Uzbekistan scored one for themselves in the very next minute to make it a one-goal affair.
Yun then completed her hat trick in the 74th minute for a two-goal cushion, before Kim Min-ji's stoppage-time header sealed the deal.
In both tournaments, North Korea are on the opposite sides of the brackets from South Korea, and all-Korean clashes could materialize either in the gold medal match or in the bronze medal contest.