“It was great to play in Korea after a long time and hear my name called. I will build on the support I received and work harder when I return to Celtic.”
The South Korea U-22 Olympic football team, led by Hwang Sun-hong, defeated Myanmar 3-0 in their third Group B match of the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the Changwon Football Center at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. With the win, South Korea advances to the knockout stages with first place.
South Korea started the game in a 4-3-3 formation. Uhm Ji Sung (Gwangju), Kim Shin-jin (FC Seoul), and Jung Sang-bin (Minnesota) formed a trio in front of the goal. The midfield consisted of Lee Hyun-joo (Werder Bremen), Kwon Hyuk-kyu (Celtic), and Baek Sang-hoon (FC Seoul). The back four consisted of Lee Tae-seok (FC Seoul), Signor Kwan (Bucheon), Cho Woo-je (Busan), and Park Chang-woo (Jeonbuk). Shin Song-hoon (Gimcheon) was in goal.
On the bench were Cho Hyun-taek (Ulsan), Min Kyung-hyun (Incheon), Lee Sang-hyuk, Cho Sung-kwon (Gimpo), Heo Yul (Gwangju), Baek Jong-beom (FC Seoul), Kang Hyun-mook (Gimcheon), Lee Jin-yong (Daegu), Jeon Byung-kwan (Daejeon), Oh Jae-hyuk (Jeonbuk), and Hong Yun-sang (Pohang). Goalkeeper Kim Jung-hoon (Jeonbuk) was left out due to his participation in the Asian Games. 바카라
South Korea was looking to not only qualify for the knockout stages, but also to win with multiple goals. It started well. In the fifth minute, Lee Tae-seok played a one-two pass into the high area. His cross to the center found Baek Sang-hoon, who leaped high to finish with a header that split the net.
But the gap was not to be closed easily. South Korea brought on Min Kyung-hyun, Oh Jae-hyuk, Hong Yun-sang, Jeon Byung-kwan, and Heo Yul to pull the reins. In the final minutes of the game, the thirst was finally quenched. In the 40th minute of the second half, Jung Sang-bin broke through. The cross to the center was pushed in by Jeon Byung-kwan. In stoppage time, Oh Jae-hyuk capped the celebration with a wedge goal. In the end, South Korea won 3-0 and advanced to the knockout rounds ahead of Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar.
After the game, we caught up with Kwon Hyuk-kyu in the Mix Zone, who was called up to the age-group squad following his move to Celtic last summer, and has had a tough schedule traveling from Europe to Asia. He started in the second and third games and was the link between the offense and defense.