‘Korea rallies, turns Seoul red’ Japan surprises… 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup recalled
Japan was stunned by South Korea’s street support.
Kim Eun-joong’s South Korea Under-20 team will face Italy in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) U-20 World Cup at Argentina’s La Plata Stadium on Monday (9 September). South Korea will be looking to reach their second consecutive final following their triumph in Poland four years ago.
Fans gather passion for ‘Little Taeguk Warriors’ The Korea Football Association announced on 8 August that a street cheer for the national team will be held at Gwanghwamun Square from 5am on 9 August. Jongno-gu Office held a deliberation committee and gave final approval to hold the street cheer. According to the KFA, the street cheer will be supported by the Korea Federation of Businessmen and Entrepreneurs, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It will be the first time in about seven months that a street cheer will be held at Gwanghwamun Square since the round of 16 match against Brazil at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar last December.메이저사이트
Japanese media outlet Nikkan Sports said: “Korea rallies again. Cheer in front of the big screen at Gwanghwamun Square in the centre of Seoul. It was a familiar sight at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. With the co-operation of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the streets of Seoul will be painted red.
The U-20 World Cup also saw large-scale group cheers. Fans took to the streets to support the national team during the group stage match against Brazil at the 2005 World Youth Football Championship in the Netherlands (now the U-20 World Cup), the 2017 tournament in South Korea, where ‘football genius’ Park Joo-young (Ulsan) played, the round of 16 match against Portugal, and the final match against Ukraine in Poland in 2019.
Meanwhile, Kim Eun-joong and her children are writing a ‘miracle’ in Argentina. It’s a reversal of fortunes for the so-called ‘valley generation’. South Korea reported a thrilling 2-1 win over France in their first group game. They finished second in the group with draws against Honduras (2-2) and Gambia (0-0). It is the first time Korea has reached the round of 16 unbeaten at a U-20 World Cup. They defeated Ecuador 3-2 in the round of 16, before beating Nigeria 1-0 in the quarter-finals with a stoppage-time winner from Choi Seok-hyun. South Korea became the first Asian nation to reach the semi-finals of two consecutive tournaments.
South Korea will challenge the myth once again. They are looking to become the first Asian nation to reach back-to-back finals. Only four other countries – the former Soviet Union, Brazil, Portugal and Argentina – have done so.
This time, it’s Italy. The Italians finished second in a deadly Group D that included Brazil, Nigeria, and the Dominican Republic. In the round of 16, they met England, the team they defeated in the quarter-finals of last year’s European Championships, 2-1. In the quarter-finals, they defeated ‘South American powerhouse’ Colombia 3-1 to reach the last four. ‘Ace’ Cesare Cassaday is the leading scorer in the tournament with six goals.