Japan disgraces itself when it points out a decline in soccer standards... 2nd place Iran is on the verge of eliminating last place → North Korea continues to lead
Apr 09, 2025
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Referring to the unfavorable results from Korea's age-specific competitions, Masana Kagiyama, chairman of the technical committee, told the technical committee on the 7th that `we should take as an example the phenomenon that Korea's soccer level, which has been competing as a rival so far, is falling.'
The match pointed out by Chairman Kagiyama was against Indonesia by South Korea's U-17 national team. Currently, the 2025 U-17 Asian Cup is taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea lost 0-1 to Indonesia for the first time in Group C. Chairman Kagiyama cautioned that "I'm not looking lightly, but there's a possibility that it will happen if we let our guard down a little bit."
But the soccer ball is round. Japan also became a victim of an unexpected incident. Japan defeated the United Arab Emirates 4-1 in the first match, but tied Vietnam 1-1 in the second match on the 8th (Korea time). Japan took the lead with the first goal in the 13th minute of the first half, but allowed a penalty equalizer by Vietnam in the 51st minute of extra time in the second half, just before the end of the game. Japan's FIFA ranking is 15th, the highest in Asia, while Vietnam is 109th.
Japan, with one win and one draw (4 points), maintained the top spot in Group B, but failed to advance to the quarterfinals early. If they lose to Australia in the final match and the United Arab Emirates defeat Vietnam, they may be eliminated from the group stage.
Korea, on the other hand, overcame the nightmare and succeeded in turning the tables. South Korea, led by head coach Baek Ki-tae, won 6-0 in the second Group C match against Afghanistan. South Korea's Kim Eun-sung (2 goals), Jung Hee-jung, Kim Ye-gun, Oharam, and Park Byung-chan scored a shower goal.
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Yemen is also 1 win and 1 loss, but South Korea (+5, Yemen -1) is ahead in goal difference. South Korea will advance to the quarterfinals as the second-ranked team in the group just by drawing the final group match against Yemen on the 11th. However, if the points are the same, the winner's winning principle will be applied first, and the group's No. 1 ranking has been crossed.
In Group A, Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia, which won two games, passed the group stage. China and Thailand, who lost all two games, were confirmed to be eliminated early.
In Group D, North Korea took the lead. North Korea defeated Tajikistan 3-0 on the 9th. Park Kwang-sung scored multiple goals and Lee Kang-rim scored a net goal. Oman defeated Iran 3-2.
North Korea has four points (1 win and 1 draw), Tajikistan and Oman have three points (1 win and 1 draw), and Iran has one point (1 draw and 1 loss). Iran, ranked second in Asia (18th in FIFA ranking) after Japan, is on the verge of elimination.
In the tournament, which involved 16 countries, eight teams ranked first and second in each group will compete for the championship with a tournament. Korea, which won the title in 1986 and 2002, will try to win the title for the first time in 23 years.
The upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup qualifying tournament will also be held in Qatar in November. Starting this year, the number of countries participating in the U-17 World Cup has increased significantly from 24 to 48, and tickets to the World Cup finals can be obtained by passing the group stage at the Asian Cup.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
