The Korean men’s soccer team defeated Uzbekistan.
Korean soccer is now only one win away from its third consecutive Asian Games loss.
Korea, led by coach Hwang Seon-hong, defeated Uzbekistan 2-1 in the men’s soccer semifinals held at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou, China on the 4th. 스포츠토토
Korea succeeded in advancing to the Asian Games men’s soccer finals for the third time in a row, following the championships in Incheon in 2014 and Jakarta and Palembang in 2018.
If they beat Japan in the finals, they will achieve the feat of winning three times in a row.
On this day, Korea used Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) as starters and pushed Uzbekistan hard from the beginning of the game.
This strategy worked. In the 4th minute of the first half, Jung Woo-young calmly pushed in a cross from Eom Won-sang, scoring the first goal.
However, Uzbekistan, who received a free kick in front of the goal in the 25th minute of the first half, allowed an equalizer through Yasurbek Yalolidinov’s sharp left-footed shot.
Jung Woo-young once again demonstrated his potential. An additional goal was scored in the 38th minute of the first half to make it 2-1.
It was also Jung Woo-young’s 7th goal.
In the second half, a somewhat rough power struggle continued.
In particular, in the 17th minute of the second half, Eom Won-sang fell after a rough back tackle by Ibrokim Khalil Yuldoshev and felt discomfort in his legs, and was eventually replaced by Ahn Jae-jun (Bucheon) in the 21st minute of the second half.
However, Uzbekistan’s Abdu-Rauf Buriev, who continued to struggle, was sent off in the 29th minute of the second half, giving them a numerical advantage.
Korea did not let down its guard and continued to push Uzbekistan, confirming its advancement to the finals.
Meanwhile, Japan defeated Hong Kong 4-0 in the semifinals held earlier in the day.