Lee Min-sung won two consecutive games thanks to Cho Sang-hyuk (Pohang Steelers)' hat-trick performance in the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers.
South Korea's under-22 (U-22), led by head coach Lee Min-sung, won a 7-0 victory over Laos under coach Ha Hyuk-joon in the second Group J match at Gelore Delta Sido Arzo Stadium in Surabaya, Indonesia, on the 6th (Korea time).
Thanks to consecutive goals by Jung Ji-hoon and Lee Kyu-dong in the 44th minute of the first half, Cho Sang-hyuk scored a hat-trick in the 5th, 15th and 48th minutes of the second half, Park Seung-ho scored a penalty goal in the 24th minute of the second half and Hwang Do-yeon shook the net in the 26th minute of the second half to complete a seven-goal difference and clean sheet victory. South Korea, which defeated Macau 5-0 in the first round on the 3rd, maintained its lead in the group with 12 goals, no runs, and two consecutive wins (six points) in two games. Laos won a 0-0 draw with Indonesia and lost one draw and one loss (one point) due to the defeat. Lee Min-sung, whose No. 1 ranking in the group is confirmed, will play the final preliminary match against Indonesia at the same place on the 9th.
A total of 15 countries and host Saudi Arabia will play in the U-23 Asian Cup finals in January next year, including the top 11 countries in each group and the top four countries in the second place in the qualifying round, where 44 countries will be divided into 11 groups.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
