After defeating the favorites in the first game, Kim Eun-jung-ho will now look to solidify his place in the Round of 16 against one of the weakest teams in the group. But they must not be complacent. They can’t afford to let their guard down against Honduras, a team that upset Korean soccer seven years ago.
Kim Eun-joong’s South Korea U-20 team will face Honduras at 6 a.m. on June 26 at the Mendoza Stadium in Mendoza, Argentina, in the second match of Group F at the FIFA World Cup 2023.
South Korea pulled off an upset in its first group game on Sept. 23, defeating France 2-1 behind goals from Lee Seung-won (Gangwon) and Lee Young-joon (Gimcheon).토토사이트
As of the 24th, South Korea is tied for first place in Group F with Gambia, who beat Honduras 2-1, followed by France and Honduras in third place. The best case scenario for South Korea in the second round is that they beat Honduras and The Gambia fails to beat France. In that case, South Korea will advance to the round of 16 early, regardless of the outcome of their final group game against the Gambia. Conversely, a draw or loss to Honduras would leave them in a “what if” situation until the final game. A win against Honduras is absolutely essential.
The team’s mood is understandably good after their first win against a strong opponent. Most of the players hadn’t gotten much playing time for their clubs, so there were concerns about their match fitness. Before leaving for Argentina, the team spent ten days in São Paulo, Brazil, training and playing trials to try to fill in the gaps, but not all of them.
Honduras, who were initially thought to be the weakest team in Group F, were upset by the Gambia and are now considered the weakest team in the group. They have qualified for the U-20 World Cup eight times, but have never made it past the group stage. They punched their ticket last year with a fourth-place finish at the North and Central American U-20 Championship, which doubled as a qualifier for the tournament.
South Korea has a dominant 8-1-1 record against Honduras across all age groups. But the only loss is a bitter one. That loss came in the quarterfinals of the men’s soccer tournament at the 2016 Rio Olympics. South Korea, who were in a group with strong teams such as Germany and Mexico and had the momentum after topping their group, suffered a shocking 0-1 loss to Honduras in the quarterfinals, ending their medal dreams. Honduras, who were playing a ‘double bus’ defense at the time, scored a sharp counter-attack to hand Korea a bitter defeat.
Honduras had lost their first game against The Gambia, but it wasn’t as close as the score suggests, especially after scoring a late equalizer that was disallowed after video assistant referee (VAR) showed the scorer’s right foot was slightly ahead of the final defender and he was offside. The team is made up mostly of players from the national league, so you can’t underestimate their organization.
The player to watch out for for Honduras is striker Marco Aseituno (Real España). He scored six goals at the North American U-20 Championship, tied for second in the tournament, and also scored a header against the Gambia. His natural position is on the left flank, but he also occasionally plays up front for the national team. He’s not the tallest player at 5’10”, but his pace and jumping ability make him a target number one.