A win would clinch a spot in the round of 16 atop the group. Coach Hwang Sun-hong has drawn all three wild cards.
Head coach Hwang Sun-hong’s Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games men’s football team will take on Thailand in its second Group E match at 8:30 p.m. tonight (Jan. 21) at the Jinhua Sports Center in China.
An aggressive lineup. Head coach Hwang Sun-hong started strikers Park Jae-yong (Jeonbuk Hyundai) and Ahn Jae-joon (Bucheon FC1995) at the same time. Ko Young-joon (Pohang Steelers), Uhm Won-sang (Ulsan Hyundai), Hong Hyun-seok (KAA Gent), and Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk) will line up in the midfield. Seol Young-woo (Ulsan), Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk), Lee Jae-ik (Seoul Eland), and Hwang Jae-won (Daegu FC) will be the back four. Lee Kwang-yeon (Gangwon FC) will wear the goalkeeping gloves.
Hwang Sun-hongho included all three wild cards (Baek Seung-ho, Park Jin-seop, and Seol Young-woo) in the starting lineup. Seol Young-woo came on as a substitute in the first leg. He warmed up in the second half, assisting on Park Jae-yong’s goal.
Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) was left off the roster. Lee flew into Hangzhou, China, from Incheon International Airport on Nov. 21 and immediately left the airport for the Jinhua Sports Center Stadium in Jinhua, China, where the national team will play Thailand in its second Group E match. He could have chosen to rest, but he chose to travel to the stadium to integrate into the team as soon as possible.
The push is on. Lee came on as a substitute in Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) first leg against Borussia Dortmund on Oct. 20. In his return from injury, Lee played 10 minutes of the second half to check his fitness.
Upon arriving in Hangzhou, Lee laughed off the topic of his injury, saying, “It’s a secret (the extent of his injury).” As for his Asian Games aspirations, he said, “I will definitely try to do well against players who are younger than me.”
Hwang Sun-hong has a good chance of advancing to the round of 16. The Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games men’s football team cruised to a 9-0 victory over Kuwait in their first Group E match at the Jinhua Sports Center in China at 8:30 p.m. on Monday night.
It was a one-sided affair. South Korea scored four goals in the first half and five in the second to dominate the Kuwaitis, who were never in danger throughout the match.
German Bundesliga player Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) was on fire with a hat trick. Captain Baek Seung-ho scored a fantastic free-kick goal and showed excellent game management skills. Cho Young-wook (Gimcheon Commerce) added to the victory with a multi-goal performance. Uhm Won-sang, Park Jae-yong, and Ahn Jae-joon also joined the scoring fray, capping off Hwang’s big win.온라인바카라
On the same day, Thailand and Bahrain in Group E tied 1-1. Bahrain also drew 1-1 with Kuwait in their second Group E match. With a win against Thailand, South Korea will clinch a spot in the round of 16 as the group’s top seed.
The Korean national soccer team has won five Asian Games titles (1970, 1978, 1986, 2014, 2018), the most of any country in history. They won back-to-back titles in Busan in 2014 and Jakarta-Palembang in 2018. South Korea, led by Hwang Sun-hong, will become the first team in the history of the tournament to win three consecutive titles.