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South Korea's under-23 (U-23) national soccer team beat Thailand in the first game of the Western Asian Football Confederation (WAFF) U-23 Championship to reach the semifinals.
South Korea won 1-0 in the first leg of the tournament at Al Fate Stadium in Al Mubaraj, Saudi Arabia, on the 21st thanks to the winning goal of side defender Cho Hyun-taek in the extra time of the first half. However, U-23 coach Hwang Sun-hong failed to lead the team. As Hwang took over as interim coach of the national soccer team for the A-match warm-up match in March, the U-23 team participated in the tournament as "Hwang Sun-hong without Hwang Sun-hong."
The upcoming event is a prelude to the 2024 Asian Cup, which will be held in Qatar on May 15 as well as the Asian qualifying round for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Eight countries including Korea, Australia, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates took part in the event. The winning team of the first round immediately advances to the semifinals.
Team U-23 scored against Thailand when Cho Hyun-taek sent a pass through the penalty arc that Kang Hyun-mook put in during extra time in the first half, and connected it with a left footed shot from the front of the penalty area. Coincidentally, the Korean national soccer team led by Hwang will also face off against Thailand. Team Korea will play its third match of the second Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-Central America World Cup against Thailand at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Sunday. It will then move to Bangkok and play its fourth match against Thailand. Korea will draw with Jordan 1-1 on the same day and play its semi-final match against Saudi Arabia, the host country, which won the penalty shootout 2-1. 안전놀이터