Why do you have to play cards…Inept penalty management, ‘defensive core’ Kim Jun-hong and Choi Seok-hyun absent from 3rd game…Honduras game left to be desired
Honduras leaves much to be desired
Kim Eun-joong’s Under-20 football team drew안전놀이터 2-2 with Honduras in their second Group F match at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Russia 2023 on 26 June (local time) at the Mendoza Stadium in Mendoza, Argentina.
With one win, one draw and four points, South Korea are in second place behind The Gambia (six points). They have secured at least third place, with third-placed Honduras (1 point) and fourth-placed France (0 points) below them. With some points on the board, a third-place finish would still get them into the round of 16. Not a bad situation.
More disappointing than the result was the loss of goalkeeper Kim Jun-hong and starting centre-back Choi Seok-hyun for the next game. Kim Jun-hong was shown a yellow card for stalling in the build-up to a late stoppage-time goal kick. After picking up one yellow card in the last match against France, Kim will be unavailable for the next three matches. In this tournament, two yellow cards will result in a player missing the next match. The loss of Kim Jun-hong, who is the main goalkeeper, is an obvious setback.
Source | Korea Football Association
Choi Seok-hyun was sent off for accumulating cautions. He was cautioned twice in the second half alone. A yellow card in the 36th minute for contesting an aerial ball was unnecessary. The challenge was made near the halfway line, not in the danger zone. The foul in the final minute of added time was unnecessary to prevent a counterattack. Choi Seok-hyun was a regular starter at centre-back, partnering Kim Ji-soo.
South Korea will not be able to field their full-strength line-up against Gambia on the 29th, which will ultimately decide whether they advance to the round of 16. A win against Honduras would have been fine, but we’re still not 100 per cent sure of qualifying. It’s disappointing.
In addition to the two players, Park Chang-woo and Cho Young-kwang also received yellow cards in the match. They are still young players, so they are still learning to manage fouls and cards. They will need to improve in the third round of the tournament.
