Seon-Hong Hwang advanced to the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 (U-23) Asian Cup finals.
The Korean Olympic soccer team, led by coach Hwang Seon-hong, defeated Myanmar 3-0 in the third match of Group B of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup group stage held at the Changwon Soccer Center in Gyeongnam on the 12th. As a result, Korea secured first place in Group B with two consecutive wins and advanced to the U-23 Asian Cup finals.
In the first match of this group stage, Hwang Seon-hong lost to Qatar 0-2, but since Qatar has already confirmed its advancement to the finals as the host country of the U-23 Asian Cup, this match record was not reflected in the rankings. Korea, which won 1-0 in the second game against Kyrgyzstan on the 9th, won the final group stage match against Myanmar and succeeded in advancing to the finals.
The AFC U-23 Asian Cup finals, which also serve as the final Asian qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics, will be held in April-May next year. A total of 16 teams, including the first and second place teams from each of the 11 groups in the group stage, as well as the host country Qatar, will compete for a ticket to Paris in the finals. Only if they place in the top three in the Asian Cup finals will they secure a spot at the Paris Olympics.
Hwang Seon-hong took the lead against Myanmar by scoring the first goal in the 5th minute of the first half. Baek Sang-hoon (Seoul) headed a cross from the left side by Lee Tae-seok (FC Seoul) and hit the net.
Korea, which gained momentum, continued to pound on Myanmar’s goal, aiming for an additional goal, but the scoring ability was disappointing. It wasn’t until the 40th minute of the second half that an additional goal was scored. Jeong Sang-bin (Minnesota United), who broke through the left penalty area, cut back the ball and Jeon Byeong-gwan (Daejeon Hana Citizen) in front of the goal pushed it in with his left foot. Then, in extra time of the second half, Oh Jae-hyuk (Jeonbuk Hyundai) scored a key goal to secure a 3-0 victory.스포츠토토
Although they defeated Myanmar by three goals, Hwang Seon-hong’s performance in this tournament left much to be desired. Qatar (59th), Kyrgyzstan (97th), and Myanmar (160th) all fall far behind Korea (28th) in the FIFA rankings. Against these teams, Korea failed to show overwhelming performance. He has scored just 4 goals and given up 2 goals in 3 games. In order for Korea to successfully advance to the Olympic finals for the 10th consecutive time, improving its goal-scoring ability has emerged as an urgent task.