U-20 World Cup grouping of the Korean under-20 men’s football team led by coach Kim Eun-joong has been confirmed. Korea, which was assigned 2 pots in the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup group draw held at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland on the 21st (Korean time), France (pot 1), Honduras (pot 3), and Gambia (pot 3). Pot 4) in Group F to advance to the round of 16.

A total of 24 countries will participate in the U-20 World Cup, which will be divided into 6 groups of 4 countries for the group stage. The top two teams in each group advance directly to the round of 16, and the top four teams in each group advance to the round of 16 as wild cards. Korea won a ticket to this tournament by advancing to the semifinals at the U-20 Asian Cup held in Uzbekistan last month.

Unlike adult football, the U-20 World Cup is always difficult to predict as there are many variables. First of all, the composition itself doesn’t look bad. Except for France, a traditional soccer powerhouse in Group F and the only winner in the U-20 World Cup, Honduras and Gambia are considered relatively worthy opponents.

Apart from adult soccer, which is ranked by FIFA rankings, Korea is surprisingly the highest in Group F in terms of rankings based on overall U-20 World Cup finals. Korea participated in the U-20 World Cup finals a total of 15 times and recorded 71 points (19 wins, 14 draws, 27 losses) in 60 matches, ranking 12th. The best result is runner-up in the 2019 competition, and it is by far the best result among Asian countries.

France ranks 13th, one notch below Korea. Contrary to the reputation of a soccer powerhouse, in the U-20 World Cup, it surprisingly only participated in 7 times in total, less than half of Korea, but left a short and thick footprint with a victory point of 66 points (20 wins, 6 draws, 9 losses). France won the first championship in 2013 with Paul Pogba and Samuel Umtiti at the forefront.

Honduras participated 8 times in the U-20 World Cup, but only 24 points (5 wins, 19 losses) and stayed in 45th place. So far, they have never made it past the group stage. Gambia, considered the weakest, was their first and last appearance, and in the 2007 tournament, they won 4 points (2 wins, 2 losses) and advanced to the round of 16, ranking 61st overall.

Korea had a very close relationship with France in the U-20 World Cup. The history of the U-20 national team is 8 matches, 1 win, 3 draws and 4 losses, which is Korea’s absolute inferiority. They met twice in the U-20 World Cup finals, 2-4 in 1997 and 1-3 in 2011, both losing by two goals. In this tournament, the members of the semifinals of the European Football Federation (UEFA) Under 19 (U-19) Championship last year in France are evaluated as having strong power.

On the other hand, Korea has the upper hand against Honduras and Gambia, winning all of them. Honduras is recording 2 wins in 2 matches against the U-20 national team, and Gambia was the only match against Gambia in the 2007 Suwon Cup International Youth Football Championship and won 4-0.

there is However, both teams are on the rise with good results in recent continental U-20 competitions, so be vigilant. Honduras advanced to the semifinals at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, and Gambia secured a ticket to the World Cup finals by finishing runner-up in the African Football Confederation (CAF) U-20 Nations Cup.

Group F is expected to have a 2-weak composition in the 1st round. In terms of objective strength, France is considered to be the overwhelming first team, so it is not a bad group considering the first goal of advancing to the tournament. In addition, although France is strong, it is less burdensome than Argentina, the home team, and Uruguay, the neighboring country, which is also home. It is worth aiming for a stable tournament advance with the goal of at least 1 win, 2 draws, or 2 wins and 1 draw.

The U-20 World Cup will be held from May 20th to June 11th. It was originally scheduled to be held in Indonesia, but as anti-Israel public opinion intensified in this Muslim country, FIFA deprived Indonesia of the right to host the World Cup last month and changed the venue to Argentina, which became a variable.

In Korean soccer history, the U-20 World Cup has more meaning than just a competition by age group. In the 1983 Mexico tournament, Park Jong-hwan achieved the myth of Korea’s first FIFA-sponsored tournament to reach the quarterfinals, and in 1991, a unified North-South team formed and advanced to the quarterfinals.

Since 2009, Egypt’s Daeho Hong Myung-ho (quarterfinals), he has made it to the round of 16 or higher five times in the last six tournaments. Most Valuable Player) and rose to become a worthy powerhouse of the U-20 World Cup.

Kim Eun-joong, coach of the U-20 national team, who became the commander of this tournament, was an unfortunate player who had no special relationship with the national team compared to his brilliant professional career. In the national team career, the adult national team only scored 5 goals in 15 A matches from 1998 to 2004, and there is no experience of participating in the adult World Cup. However, in U-20, he has experience스포츠토토 participating in both the AFC U-20 Asian Cup and the FIFA U-20 World Cup, and has been active as a main player, scoring 7 points in 11 matches.

Same-age striker Lee Dong-guk, who played an active part as the soul’s two-top player in the U-20 national team at the time, is also considered a player of misfortune in the World Cup. Kim Eun-joong doesn’t really have a relationship with the Taegeuk mark.

Coach Kim Eun-joong won the U-19 Asian Championship, a regional qualifier during his playing days, and participated in the 1999 Nigeria U-20 World Cup finals. However, the team has the pain of failing to pass the group stage with 1 win and 2 losses. Coach Kim failed to score in the finals at the time. 

As a leader, the U-20 national team is the first coaching career, and since taking office, he has recorded 10 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses, leading the World Cup finals. The U-20 World Cup, which came back as a coach after 24 years, is coach Kim Eun-joong’s first major tournament as a leader. It was like he finally had the opportunity to resolve the regret of the Taegeuk mark he hadn’t shown during his playing days.

Leaders who achieved success in the U-20, such as Hong Myung-bo, Shin Tae-yong, and the late coach Lee Kwang-jong, were often in charge of the U-23 team, the Olympic team. For coach Kim Eun-joong, depending on what kind of performance he shows in this competition, it can be an important turning point in his leadership career.

Kim Eun-joong, led by Kang Seong-jin, Seong Jin-young, and Kim Yong-hak, has no superstar like Lee Kang-in, who created a syndrome in Jeong-jung-yong-ho four years ago, but is dreaming of another myth based on his strong organizational skills. Kim Eun-joong, who has completed the formation of the group, will begin training at the Paju National Training Center (NFC) from the 24th to the 26th, and will make final preparations by finalizing the list of players two weeks before the tournament in early May.