The South Korea Under-20 team, led by head coach Kim Eun-joong, defeated Ecuador 3-2 in the round of 16 at the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023 on Sunday (June 2) at Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero, Argentina. South Korea advanced, while Ecuador finished the tournament.
South Korea opened the scoring early in the match. In the 10th minute, Bae Jun-ho sent a ball from the left side of the opposition box to the right side of the box. Lee Young-joon chest-trapped the ball and fired a shot that rattled the net.
South Korea kept the momentum going. In the 13th minute, Lee Young-joon sent a pass from the right side of the opponent’s box to the center. Kim Yong-hak caught it and shot, but it went wide.
Korea took another step forward. In the 18th minute, Park Chang-woo passed from the right side to the center of the field. Bae Jun-ho collected it, dribbled, and shot from the center of the box to split the goal.
Colombia pulled a goal back. In the 30th minute, Park Chang-woo committed a foul in defense and a penalty kick was awarded. Park converted to make it 2-1 at the half. 안전놀이터
In the second half, South Korea added another goal. In the second minute of the second half, South Korea won a corner kick from the left flank. Lee Seung-won sent the ball up and Choi Seok-hyun headed it in.
Ecuador regained the lead. In the 19th minute, the ball found Paez on the right side of the field. Paez dribbled and took a shot, but it was saved by goalkeeper Kim Jun-hong.
Ecuador took another step forward. In the 38th minute, there was a scramble for a corner kick. Sambrano shot the ball over the goal line.
From there, both teams fought for possession. The intermittent Ecuadorian attacks were fierce, but our defense did a good job of blocking them. In the end, the game ended with a 3-2 Korean victory.