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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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"England is the favorite, but the ball is round."
It is the 32nd round of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2025. Baek Ki-tae's opponent in the round of 32 of the tournament, which aims for the best record ever, has been decided by England. The national team won the third Group F match against Ivory Coast 3-1 in Doha, Qatar on the 10th (Korea time) and passed the group stage with two wins, one draw and seven unbeaten points. It was the first time in six years to advance to the tournament since the 2019 Brazil tournament and the first time in 10 years since the 2015 Chile tournament. South Korea, whose all-time U-17 World Cup record is the quarterfinals (1987, 2009, 2019), was eliminated early at the 2023 Indonesia tournament due to all three losses in the group stage.
South Korea, which won a ticket to the round of 32 early on, was in a position to wait for who will be the second-ranked team in the group to face off. Based on the results of the final group match on the 12th, South Korea was confirmed to be third among the second-ranked teams in the group, and the meeting took place as England became sixth among the second-ranked teams in the group among England, Portugal and Belgium. England finished second in Group E with two wins and one loss (six points). The tournament, which has increased the number of participating teams from 24 countries to 48, will be held in such a way that eight teams with good performance out of the first and second and third places in 12 groups will advance to the round of 32 tournaments. South Korea and England will compete in the round of 16 at 9:30 p.m. on the 15th at the Espire Zone. The winner of the match will clash with the winner of the Austria-Tunisia match on the 18th.
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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It is the first time in 10 years that South Korea and England have met at the U-17 World Cup since they drew 0-0 in the group stage of the 2015 Chile tournament. Lee Seung-woo (Jeonbuk), Oh Se-hoon (Machida Zelvia), and Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid) belonged to Korea, which was led by head coach Choi Jin-chul at the time. His overall record at the U-17 level was three draws and two losses in five games. "I'm going to win for the first time," Baek said. `I'm proud that the players passed the group stage without losing to the best of their abilities. England are a strong team, but this age group has a lot of variables. I will confidently prepare as a team" expressed his determination.
Meanwhile, as of the 12th, the match table for the 32nd round of the tournament was completed. Japan, which passed Group B as No. 1, will face South Africa, ranking second in Group A, and North Korea, which advanced to the round of 32 as a third wild card in Group G, will face Venezuela, respectively. Venezuela beat England 3-0 in the group stage and ranked first in Group E. If Japan and North Korea win side by side in the round of 32, a North Korea-Japan match will be held in the round of 16. In addition, Argentina-Mexico, Portugal-Belgium, Switzerland-Egypt, Ireland-Canada, United States-Morocco, Zambia-Malley, Brazil-Paraguay, France-Colombia, Austria-Tunisia, Italy-Czech Republic, Croatia-Uzbekistan, Senegal-Uganda and Germany-Burkina Faso will compete in the round of 32. In the previous Indonesian competition, Germany beat France in the final and won. Nigeria (five times) held the most winning team ever, and Saudi Arabia's victory in 1989 was the best in Asia.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
