Led by coach Lee Min-sung, South Korea's under-23 squad will face Qatar in its opening match at 7:30 p.m. at Paloma Mizuho Rugby Stadium in Nagoya before taking on Saudi Arabia next week in its second and final group-stage match.
South Korea won gold at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, the 2018 Games in Jakarta-Palembang and the 2022 Games in Hangzhou, and now seeks an unprecedented fourth consecutive title in men's football.
But the road to the knockout stage leaves little room for error, as Iraq's withdrawal reduced the men's tournament to 15 teams, leaving South Korea in a three-team group while the other groups have four teams each. The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals, meaning South Korea has just two matches to secure a place in the last eight, compared with three group-stage games for teams in the other groups.
The unusual format offers an extra recovery period between matches, but it also makes the opener against Qatar particularly important, as a poor result would put South Korea under pressure ahead of its match against Saudi Arabia, scheduled for Sept. 22 at the same venue.
Lee has formed a strong squad with several players playing in Europe including Stoke City's Bae Jun-ho, Brentford's Kim Ji-soo, Newcastle United U21's Park Seung-soo and KVC Westerlo's Yang Min-hyeok.
The 23-man roster also includes three wild-card players such as Gangwon FC's Lee Gi-hyuk, Celtic FC's Yang Hyun-jun and Swansea City's Eom Ji-sung. The four players, Bae, Eom, Lee and Yang, were also included in South Korea's national team squad for this summer's World Cup in June.
"We came here to win. Our training went well during our pre-tournament camp in Shizuoka before arriving in Nagoya. We are fully prepared," Lee said at a press event the previous day, just a day before the opener.
If South Korea advances to the next round, it will face either the winner or runner-up of the group featuring Kuwait, the Philippines, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam in the quarterfinals on Sept. 25, depending on whether it finishes first or second in its group.
AJP Takeaways
- South Korea faces Qatar on Sept. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in its Asian Games men's football opener in Nagoya, Japan.
- South Korea is seeking a record fourth consecutive Asian Games gold medal after winning in 2014, 2018 and 2022.
- With only two group-stage matches, South Korea must finish in the top two to reach the September 25 quarterfinals.
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