The South Korean U-23 football team, led by coach Lee Min-seong, is set to deploy its elite attacking lineup in the semifinals against China at the 2026 Aichi Nagoya Asian Games.
The match will take place on September 30 at 3 p.m. local time at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan.
Leading the front line will be Lee Young-jun (Grasshopper), with Um Ji-sung (Swansea City), Lee Hyun-joo (FC Aroka), and Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City) positioned behind him. In midfield, Lee Seung-won (Gangwon FC) and Hwang Do-yoon (FC Seoul) will coordinate play.
The back four will consist of Bae Hyun-seo (Gyeongnam FC), Kim Ji-soo (Brentford), Shin Min-ha (Gangwon FC), and Choi Seok-hyun (Ulsan HD), while goalkeeper Kim Jun-hong (Suwon Samsung) will guard the net.
With the original captain, wild card Lee Gi-hyeok (Gangwon FC), sidelined from the starting lineup, Um Ji-sung will take over as captain. Um also joined the team as a wild card for this tournament.
Other wild cards, including Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic FC), Yang Min-hyuk (KVC Westerlo), and Kim Myung-jun (KRC Genk), are prepared to come off the bench.
Lee Young-jun is expected to be the focal point of the attack. He joined the national team late due to club commitments but made his tournament debut as a substitute in the group stage match against Saudi Arabia on September 22. He scored twice in the quarterfinal against Vietnam on September 25, leading the team to a 4-0 victory.
South Korea advanced to the semifinals after defeating Qatar 4-1 and Saudi Arabia 2-0 in the group stage, followed by a 4-0 win over Vietnam in the quarterfinals. The team has scored 10 goals and conceded just one in three matches so far.
The key to victory will be how they break through China's solid defense. China defeated North Korea 2-1, drew 0-0 with Iran and the United Arab Emirates, and won 3-0 against Thailand in the quarterfinals, maintaining a clean sheet in their last three matches.
This marks China's first appearance in the semifinals of the men's football tournament since the U-23 age limit was introduced at the 2002 Busan Games. The team has shown improvement, finishing as runners-up in the recent AFC U-23 Asian Cup.
Historically, South Korea leads the U-23 head-to-head record against China with 13 wins, 3 draws, and 4 losses. However, recent encounters have not favored South Korea, as they lost 0-1 in a friendly in March 2022 and 0-2 in the Panda Cup in November 2022. This match presents an opportunity to break a two-match losing streak against China and secure a spot in the final.
Since the 2014 Incheon Games, South Korea has won three consecutive gold medals in men's football at the Asian Games, including the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and the 2022 Hangzhou Games. A victory over China would bring them one step closer to achieving a historic fourth consecutive gold medal.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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