Lee Min-sung-ho, who played in the U23 Asian Cup qualifying round, will go to the final round of Indonesia's final match + catch two birds with one stone
Sep 08, 2025
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South Korea's under-22 (U-22), led by head coach Lee Min-sung, will play the final Group J match against Indonesia in the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup qualifying round at Gelore Delta Sido Arzo Stadium in Surabaya, Indonesia on the 9th (Korea time). In this preliminary round, 44 countries will be divided into 11 groups of four countries, with the first-place team in each group going straight to the finals, and the top four teams among the second-place teams will qualify for the finals. The finals will be held in Saudi Arabia in January 2026.
The AFC U-23 Asian Cup has been held every two years since the first competition in 2014, but after this competition, it will be changed to be held every four years with Olympic qualifiers only in the year when the Olympics are held. 2026 is not the year when the Olympics are held, so the Saudi Games have nothing to do with the right to participate in the Olympics.
Nevertheless, coach Lee was quite nervous ahead of this tournament. It was the first test of Lee Min-sung, who departed in earnest starting with a friendly match against Australia in June. Coach Lee will lead the national team to the U-23 Asian Cup, the 2026 Nagoya and Aichi Asian Games, and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. If the first step was not done well, the move could be shaken in the future. They face a lower team, but recently Asia has been levelling up. Due to league schedule problems, the national team was divided into two, and there were even variables that failed to select key resources such as European leagues and Kang Sang-yoon (Jeonbuk). The director will focus on the outcome rather than the content. The goal is to win all three games."
Fortunately, the first two games showed good performance. Jeong Jae-sang (Daegu) made a multi-goal victory over Macau in the first round, winning 5-0. In the second game against Laos, led by head coach Huh Hyuk-joon, he won 7-0 with Cho Sang-hyuk (Pohang)'s hat trick. After experimenting with various players, he ranked No. 1 in Group J with two consecutive wins. In fact, it crossed the 9th ridge of the main line. If it does not lose to Indonesia, which is in second place with one win and one draw, it will secure the top spot in the group. Even if they lose, they can be a second-place wild card as much as they have an advantage in scoring multiple points.
But there is a reason why you must catch Indonesia. South Korea lost to Indonesia in the quarterfinals of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in April last year after a penalty shootout. The defeat humiliated South Korea, whose record of consecutive Olympic qualifications since the 1988 Seoul Olympics ended in the ninth. The coach who led Indonesia at the time was Shin Tae-yong, the current coach of Ulsan. Indonesia drew 0-0 against Laos in its first game, but it made great efforts to this tournament, including selecting four A team players. The home advantage is also a part of my concern. Coach Lee is also wary because it is a team that has improved considerably. There are a lot of good players here, but Korea is ahead in both power and atmosphere.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
