The South Korean U-23 men's soccer team, aiming for a fourth consecutive title, will face China in the semifinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
On September 26, China secured a 3-0 victory over Thailand in the quarterfinals held at Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.
South Korea advanced to the semifinals after defeating Vietnam 4-0 on September 25 and will now compete against China for a spot in the finals.
The semifinal match between South Korea and China is scheduled for September 30 at 3 p.m. at Nagai Stadium in Osaka.
Historically, South Korea holds an advantage over China with a record of 13 wins, 3 draws, and 4 losses.
However, South Korea has lost to China in their last two encounters. They fell 1-0 at the Yanqing International Friendly Tournament in March last year and lost 2-0 at the Panda Cup in November.
If South Korea defeats China, they will be one step closer to achieving a fourth consecutive championship title, having previously won gold medals in Incheon in 2014, Jakarta-Palembang in 2018, and the 2022 Hangzhou Games held in 2023.
The team's performance in this tournament has been strong. In the group stage of Pool D, South Korea defeated Qatar 4-1 and Saudi Arabia 2-0 to reach the quarterfinals. They then secured a decisive victory over Vietnam to advance to the semifinals.
China has also remained unbeaten in the tournament, winning against North Korea 2-1 and drawing 0-0 with both Iran and the United Arab Emirates in the group stage.
This marks the first time since the U-23 tournament format was introduced at the 2002 Busan Games that China has reached the quarterfinals.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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