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Won 1-0 in the West Asia U-23 Championship, clashed with Saudi Arabia on the 24th to advance to the final, and challenged for the ‘Paris ticket’ for the U-23 Asian Cup next month

Kim Ji-soo (left), defender of the U-23 Olympic soccer team, is handling the ball in the West Asian Football Confederation U-23 Championship match against Thailand on the 21st. Photo source:

The U-23 Olympic soccer team, whose coach Hwang Sun-hong was away for a while, won the game against Thailand.

The Olympic team defeated Thailand 1-0 in the first match of the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) U-23 Championship held in Al Mubaraj, Saudi Arabia on the 21st. Korea defended defender Cho Hyun-taek's left-footed first goal in extra time of the first half until the end. Eight countries participated in this competition, and Korea will compete with the host country Saudi Arabia on the 24th to advance to the finals. Saudi Arabia advanced to the semifinals by defeating Jordan in a penalty shootout.

Coach Hwang, the head coach of the Olympic soccer team, was temporarily in charge of the national team (Team A) that was playing the 2026 North and Central America World Cup Asia 2nd qualifying round match against Thailand, and was unable to keep the bench in this U-23 Championship. Instead, Myung Jae-yong, head coach of the Olympic team, is leading this competition.

After completing this competition, the Olympic team will participate in the U-23 Asian Cup to be held in Qatar from the 15th of next month. 16 countries will participate in this competition, which also serves as the Asian qualifier for the Paris Olympics, and only those who place in the top 3 will receive a ticket to Paris. Korea, which is attempting to advance to the Olympic finals for the 10th consecutive time, was in Group B of the group stage along with Japan, China, and the United Arab Emirates. 일본야동