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| Chinese Wang Si-chin pushing the chest of a fallen player. Relay Screen |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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Lee Min-sung won the Panda Cup even after losing the Korea-China match.
South Korea's U-23 national soccer team, led by head coach Lee Min-sung, won 1-0 in the third match of the 2025 Panda Cup against Vietnam in Chengdu, China on the 18th (Korea time) thanks to Kim Myung-joon's winning goal in the 34th minute of the first half.
South Korea, which defeated Uzbekistan 2-0 in the first round and lost to China in the second round, ended the tournament with a score of 2-1 and 6 points.
The result of the subsequent China-Uzbekistan match will determine whether to win or not. China and Uzbekistan had three points with one win each. If China, which is ahead of the difference in gains and losses, wins, Korea's chances of winning the championship would disappear. The Chinese media 'The Cover' recalls China's 1-0 victory in the Korea-China war in March, "Are you afraid of Korea?" Not at all." It is an expression that gives a glimpse of how big 'event' the victory against Korea is.
However, China lost its chance by drawing 0-0 with Uzbekistan in the 'Winning Match'.
China, which finished the first half scoreless, made changes to its side defense by replacing Wang Si-chin (Zhengzi) in the 19th minute of the second half. But was he motivated. In the 28th minute of the second half, Wang Si-chin caught his opponent and knocked him down while chasing after Uzbekistan's Zumayev Asirbek. As Uzbekistan players flocked to China's non-manner foul and expressed their anger, Wang Shih-chin pushed Zumaev's chest, which was sitting hesitantly, with both hands. The referee gave a red card to this.
China, which was underdog in numbers, was on the verge of losing points in the 40th minute of the second half. In a free kick situation, Rezabaliev fired a header, but hit the crossbar. The match ended in a 0-0 draw, and China's victory was over. Chinese media reported "Wang Si-chin ruined the future!"Raised the level of criticism.
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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As a result of this day, South Korea confirmed the championship with six points. China (score 4, +1), Uzbekistan (score 4, +1), and Vietnam (score 3) ranked second to fourth.
South Korea gained a good win in China ahead of the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup finals in Saudi Arabia in January next year. However, he is expected to face criticism for his recent performance, which has lost three games in the last four games, including two consecutive games against Saudi Arabia in October and this game against China.
Kim Myung-joon scored a total of two goals in the match between Uzbekistan and Vietnam, tied for first place in scoring with Behram Abdouweli (Selected Feng City) in China.
Lee Min-sung will face Iran, Lebanon and Uzbekistan in the group stage at the Asian Cup.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
