South Korea has failed to advance to the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation’s(AFC) Under-23 Asian Cup for the first time since the biennial tournament began in 2014.
The junior squad, led by coach Hwang Sun-hong, suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat to Japan in the quarterfinals held in the capital of Uzbekistan on Sunday.
The defeat came as Team Korea was aiming to grab the championship for the second consecutive time this year.
Sunday’s match also marked the first time in six years that South Korea and Japan faced off in the Under-23 Asian Cup. In the 2016 Cup final, Japan beat South Korea 3-2.
Source: KBS World Radio