By John Duerden
Korea’s journey at the 2018 Asia U23 Championships ended on Tuesday evening with a 4-1 loss to Uzbekistan in the semifinal. The defeat was not quite as comprehensive as the scoreline suggests, with a second-half red card for Korea making a major difference.
With 16 minutes remaining, it was 1-1 but Jang Yun-ho received a second yellow card and Uzbekistan took full advantage.
The Central Asians opened the scoring just after the half-hour thanks to a fine goal from Zabikhillo Urinboev. Just before the hour, Hwang Hyun-soo headed an equalizer and the game was finely poised. Uzbekistan had been the better team but at that point anything could have happened.
The dismissal of Jang was a major blow for the Koreans, who managed to hold out until the end of normal time to ensure there would be 30 more minutes left to play.
Coach Kim Bong-kil was hoping to take the game to a penalty shootout and if his men managed to snatch a goal in the meantime, much the better.
The young Taeguk Warriors defended deeply, with goalkeeper Kang Hyeon-mu making some fine saves. It was going to take something special to breach that backline and it came in the 100th minute.
Azizjon Ganiev picked up the ball 30 meters from goal and let fly with a wicked shot that flew into the top corner of the East Asian net.
That was that. Korea had to chase the game but was a man short, leaving gaps for the opposition to take advantage of, not to mention the tiredness that having to compensate for losing a player brings. Uzbekistan scored twice more and that was that.
Korea finishes with a game against Qatar to determine which team takes third. But the tournament was not exactly a satisfactory one.
The team struggled at times to keep possession and their passing was below par, especially in the semi-final. There was none of the crisp, incisive passing and fast attack play that the Korea FA had been hoping for.
Not enough chances were created and of those that were, not enough were taken. Defensively, there were also major issues and Korea lacked organization and concentration at the back, always liable to give other teams a chance. The team won three out of five games: two narrow victories against Southeast Asian opposition in Vietnam and Malaysia and then a win over a poor Australia.
There were some bright points. Goalkeeper Kang had a good tournament, Han Seung-gyu impressed in midfield, reading the game well and providing some authority, and Lee Keun-ho was lively in attack.
Overall, however, despite reaching the semifinal, Korea leaves China with more questions than answers and the future of coach Kim will be the subject of debate. Attention now turns to the senior team with the 2018 World Cup less than five months away.