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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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| 사진=XINHUA-XinHua Yonhap News |
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After Poland and Argentina, this time Chile. South Korea's U-20 national soccer team, led by head coach Lee Chang-won, is aiming for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2025, which will open in Chile in September. Group B will clash with Ukraine (Sept. 28), Paraguay (Oct. 1), and Panama (Oct. 4). South Korea will try to reach the semifinals for the third consecutive time after Poland in 2019 and Argentina in 2023.
Expectations are high. The 2005-2007 players, who are the main players of this national team, are showing off their talents early on. In recognition of their potential, there are many players who play not only in the K-League but also on the European stage. Kim Tae-won (Portimonens), born in 2005, Yang Min-hyuk (Tottenham), Yoon Do-young (Brighton, Excelsior loan), and Kim Min-soo (Girona, Andora loan) are playing in Europe. Park Seung-soo (Suwon Samsung), who was born in 2007, is close to moving to Newcastle (England). In addition, players who may join are competing in every round in the K-League. Some of them even have experience as they have played in the U-17 World Cup. This is why the evaluation of the national team is being made `the best member ever.'
About two months before the competition, 'Lee Chang-won-ho' is preparing step by step. In the meantime, they worked together through domestic and international exhibitions. He also has a pre-tournament plan. A KFA official said, `The final domestic training session will be held in the first week of September. He is scheduled to leave for Chile in the second week. In Chile, they plan to play two friendly warm-up matches against other teams participating in the World Cup. The sparring partners are coordinating.
There are variables. The biggest problem is the dispatch of overseas teams. Earlier, director Lee also expressed his concerns about recruiting overseas players. Lee will constantly send requests for cooperation to each club in order to recruit players, although he will not be able to answer for sure during the domestic call-up in May. I know exactly what the players have done in the national team so far. We need to secure good players to be internationally competitive."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
