The road to Paris opens the door to the second match. The South Korea U-23 national football team, led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong, will face China in the second match of Group B of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup and Paris 2024 final qualifying tournament at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar, on June 19 at 10 p.m. ET.
South Korea won their first match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 1-0 on Nov. 16, with Lee Young-joon (Gimcheon Commerce) scoring the winner, as Hwang Sun-hong-ho was unlucky to have his goal twice disallowed on the day. South Korea leads Group B alongside Japan. With a win in the second game, South Korea can clinch a spot in the quarterfinals early. It would also take some pressure off the final match against Japan.
The second opponent is China. China lost to Japan 0-1 in the first round. It was a disappointing result for China. China conceded an early goal to Tsuki Guryu just eight minutes into the game. It was 0-1. The tide turned. In the 17th minute of the first half. Japan's center back Ryuya Nishio was shown a red card for a ridiculous foul. China took advantage of their numerical advantage to turn the tide. China unleashed an onslaught against Japan. They dominated Japan in every aspect of the offense, including ball possession (62%-38%), shots (10-8), and shots on goal (6-4). However, China's goalkeeping was at its worst. China tried an unorthodox tactic in the 43rd minute of the second half, bringing on "2-meter 토토사이트 goalkeeper" Yoo Yong-yong as a field player, but it didn't pay off.
Public opinion in China was not favorable. Chinese media outlet Ziboba wrote, "The game was far from a win. Fans voiced their disappointment, saying that it would be a shame to lose despite their numerical advantage. Chinese coach Cheng Yaodong was quoted by Chinese media as saying, "Japan is a strong team, so our preparation centered on counterattacks. The opponent was one goal ahead. Japan had the advantage, so we stuck to our original plan. We created several chances, but we couldn't capitalize on them."
China is looking to turn things around. China's Sohu.com said, "The second game is the fate of the tournament. It's against South Korea. If China fails to win, they may be eliminated from the group stage. With the stakes so high, China is likely to pull out all the stops, including rough play and unorthodox tactics. In particular, China plays a rough style of soccer that has been dubbed "Shaolin soccer". While not an apples-to-apples comparison, China played a very rough game at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2026 North American World Cup Asia Second Qualifiers. If they suffer any injuries, they are bound to struggle throughout the tournament.
South Korea will be trying to qualify for their 10th consecutive Olympic Games. Rough play and intentional boundaries from opponents are inevitable. It will be interesting to see if Hwang and the Taegeuk Warriors can overcome China's tough challenge and take another step towards Paris.
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