Prospects are pouring in, but the reality is that the national team by age is neglected even in China
Mar 24, 2025
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South Korea lost 0-1 to China in the second round of the U-224 friendly tournament hosted by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) at Yancheng Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Jiangsu Province, China on the 23rd. In the 41st minute of the second half, Liu Haofan scored the winning goal in a corner kick situation. South Korea, which drew 1-1 with Vietnam in the first match on the 20th, suffered a shock loss to China and remained at one draw and one loss.
It was a disappointing game. It's not just a missed result. Interim coach Lee Chang-hyun blamed the decision, saying "Every time the referee whistles biasedly", but the content was pushed back. If it weren't for the luck of the first half goal and goalkeeper Moon Hyun-ho's good defense, he would have given up more goals. The number of shots on target also fell to two to seven. South Korea didn't create any threatening chances throughout the game.
Korean soccer has recently increased its number of losing games against China. In the national team by age, 'Korean fever' has long disappeared. The under-17 national team has not won a single match with two draws and one loss in the last three matches. In the Korea-China exchange match held in Mokpo last year, the team suffered a humiliating 1-to-4 defeat. The U-20 national team also lost 0-2 in a four-nation friendly tournament in China last year. The U-23 national team also suffered another bitter taste of defeat in two years after losing 0-1 in the away warm-up match in June 2023.
Team A is undefeated with five wins and one draw in the last six games between Korea and China, and still has an absolute advantage over China, but it is certainly a 'danger signal' that the understone is collapsing. It is already a Korean soccer team in Japan, including the A national team, which is absolutely inferior to all age groups.
The irony is that Korean football has faced a flood of promising players. With the establishment of the semi-professional system, teenagers are making a splash in the K-League. Korean teenagers are in the spotlight of Europe. Yang Min-hyuk (Queens Park Rangers) and Yoon Do-young (Brighton, 19) have already advanced to the English Premier League, which is called the world's best stage, and active high school students such as Lee Kyung-hyun (17, Copenhagen) and Kim Tae-won (20, Portimonense) are also on the European stage. There are also many players in their early 20s who are traveling in Europe, including Bae Joon-ho (Stoke City), Lee Hyun-joo (Hanover, 22), and Kim Ji-soo (21, Brentford).
The problem is that the emergence of such prospects is not leading to the competitiveness of Korean soccer. Winning is becoming difficult even in Asia. The last time he won the U-20 Asian Cup, which is the most winning, was in 2012. In the meantime, there was only one final. The U-17 team has also failed to lift the trophy since 2002. The U-23 national team failed to reach the semifinals at last year's U-23 Asian Cup, and suffered a tragedy in which it failed to advance to the Olympic finals for the 10th consecutive time.
The reason is clear. This is because the national team management by age is not properly managed. South Korea took part in this year's event as an interim commander. Interim coach Lee, Cho Se-kwon and interim coach Kim Dae-hwan led the team. It's been nearly a year since Hwang Sun-hong stepped down, but no official coach has been appointed yet. Of course, it wasn't possible to be properly prepared. In the meantime, the U-23 national team has not been called up once. It was literally left unattended. This interim director may sound like an excuse, but he was really unprepared. Our main purpose this time was not to win, but to select players"He confessed.
The same goes for other national teams. The U-20 national team, where Kim Eun-joong, who made the semifinals of the U-20 World Cup in June 2023, stepped down, also appointed Lee Chang-won only in May 2024, a year later. In the meantime, he only convened a few times under the temporary supervision system. Coach Lee had to hurry up and prepare for the U-20 Asian Cup. Fortunately, he won a ticket to the finals, but he showed signs of anxiety throughout the tournament due to his performance that did not match the all-time member.
Asia is increasingly levelling up. In particular, many countries are putting a lot of effort into representing by age. Uzbekistan even incorporates national teams by age into the professional league. Vietnam, where head coach Park Hang-seo wrote a myth, and Indonesia, led by head coach Shin Tae-yong until recently, are also cases in which this competitiveness has been brought to the A national team after raising the U-23 team first. As in the past, it is now impossible to stand at the top of Asia after a brief training session. We also need to prepare systematically to survive. This defeat against China is a lesson once again.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
