Kim Eun-Joong-ho “captain” Lee Seung-Won (Gangwon) is aiming for a podium finish at the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Under-20 (U-20) World Cup 2023.
The South Korean U-20 team, led by Kim Eun-joong, will face Israel in the third-place match of the tournament at 2:30 a.m. ET on June 12 at La Plata Stadium in Argentina.
Although the team failed to reach the final for the second consecutive year, a win would give them a third-place finish for the first time in the tournament.
South Korea has reached the quarterfinals three times at the U-20 World Cup, finishing fourth in Mexico in 1983 and second in Poland in 2019.
Against Israel, all eyes will be on Lee Seung-won’s ‘golden right foot’.
The Kim Eun Joong Ho captain has accumulated a whopping six offensive points in the tournament with two goals and four assists.
That’s the same number of attacking points as Lee set at the 2019 tournament in Poland. FIFA awarded Lee the Golden Ball, the tournament’s most valuable player (MVP) award, for his impressive performance at the tournament, despite South Korea finishing as runners-up.
Lee was the first South Korean player to win the Golden Ball at a FIFA-organized tournament.
While it is highly unlikely that the Golden Ball will be awarded to South Korea, who were relegated to a third or fourth place finish after a disappointing final, there is every chance that Lee Seung-won will surpass Lee Kang-in’s record.
Lee has been a key part of South Korea’s offense since the first game of the group stage, a 2-1 win over France, with one goal and one assist. 토토사이트
After adding assists against Honduras in the second round, Ecuador in the round of 16, and Nigeria in the quarterfinals, Lee converted a penalty kick from Bae Joon-ho (Daejeon) in the 23rd minute of the fourth-place game against Italy with his team trailing 0-1.
With the exception of the third-place game against Gambia, Lee totaled six offensive points in the six matches leading up to the quarterfinals.
If Lee Seung-won scores a goal or adds an assist against Israel, he will surpass the record set by Lee Kang-in four years ago.
After the loss to Italy, Lee broke down in tears on the pitch, telling FIFA+ after the game, “There are three or four matches left,” and “I told the boys not to hang their heads and to do well in the remaining matches.”
Meanwhile, Israel, one of the surprise teams of the tournament alongside South Korea, reached the quarterfinals in their first ever appearance.
Despite a 0-1 loss to Uruguay in the semifinals, they were strong against Asian opponents, beating Japan in the group stage and Uzbekistan in the tournament.