Can Korea really rise to the top of the undefeated 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup? It is also noteworthy that Korea remains as the only team that has not lost even once while the semifinal team has been covered.
In the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup quarter-final match against Nigeria held at Stadio Unico Madre de Cludades in Santiago del Estero, Argentina on the 5th (Korean time), Choi Seok-hyun’s header-winning goal scored the winning goal in the 5th minute of the first half of extra time, 1-0. and advanced to the quarterfinals.토토사이트
Korea beat Colombia 3-1 and advanced to the semifinals against Italy on the 9th at La Plata’s Estadio Unigo Diego Armando Maradona to advance to the final.
In the semi-finals that followed, Uruguay won 2-0 against the United States, the only team that had advanced to the quarter-finals with a scoreless victory, and finally took the ticket to the semi-finals. Uruguay beats Brazil and faces Israel, who made a miracle in the quarterfinals in the first tournament.
The United States, which won all matches from the group stage to the round of 16 without losing a single goal, was eliminated, leaving Korea as the only undefeated team to advance to the semifinals.
Israel was on the brink of elimination with 1 draw and 1 loss in their 2 group stage matches, but won a come-from-behind victory against Japan in their last match and passed the group stage with 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss. Italy and Uruguay both recorded 2 wins and 1 loss. Only Korea has not lost a game in the group stage with one win and two draws. In addition, the semifinals of this tournament were all filled with teams that placed second in the group stage.
This can serve as an opportunity for Korea to gain psychological confidence in the remaining semi-finals, finals or 3rd and 4th place matches. This is because they showed sufficient competitiveness through the group stage and beat strong players in South America and Africa, such as Ecuador and Nigeria, in the tournament. Also, Korea sank France, the favorite for the championship, in the first match of the group stage.
Of course, Italy is the strongest opponent Korea has ever faced in this tournament. Although they lost 0-2 in the second match against Nigeria in the group stage, they boast a strong offense against Brazil, scoring three goals in the first half alone. Cesar Casadei is aiming for the top scorer with six goals in this competition.
However, it should also be taken into account that Italy have conceded goals in all but the final group stage matches against the Dominican Republic. In the first match against Brazil, Italy scored 3 goals in the first half and conceded 2 runs, winning in a sweat. They also lost one goal each in the tournament against England and Colombia. Korea, which scored goals in all matches except for the Gambia match, can open up Italy’s defense sufficiently.
If Korea beats Italy, they can aim for the first championship in history as well as advancing to the final twice in a row. Italy is, in fact, a team that is close to the ‘end game’ among the semifinal teams. Although Israel finished runner-up in the European Under-19 Championships last year, it is classified as an underdog, and Uruguay is evaluated to be somewhat inferior to Italy.