▲ South Korea U-23 football team head coach Lee Min-sung and coaching staff salute the national flag ahead of the Group D match against Qatar at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men's football tournament at the Mizuho Park Rugby Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on the 15th.
The under-23 (U-23) men's national football team, which has already secured an early berth in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, has included Yang Min-hyuk (Westerlo) in the starting lineup for their second group stage match.
Led by head coach Lee Min-sung, the U-23 national football team is deploying a 4-2-3-1 formation for their Group D second match against Saudi Arabia at the Mizuho Park Rugby Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, today (the 22nd). Yang Min-hyuk and Lee Hyun-joo (Arouca) will make their first starts, while Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic) and Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City) begin on the bench.
In the second-line attack, Yang Min-hyuk and Lee Hyun-joo will join Um Ji-sung (Swansea City), who scored a hat-trick in the first group stage match, to lead the offensive line.
As in the previous match, 2006-born Kim Myung-jun (Genk) will spearhead the front line, while captain Lee Ki-hyuk and Lee Seung-won (both from Gangwon) will partner in midfield.
The back four remains unchanged from the first match, consisting of Kim Ji-soo (Brentford), Choi Seok-hyun (Ulsan), Shin Min-ha (Gangwon), and Bae Hyun-seo (Gyeongnam), with Kim Jun-hong (Suwon) wearing the goalkeeper gloves.
Tall striker Lee Young-jun (Grasshoppers), who joined the national team late yesterday due to club circumstances, will wait on the bench for his chance.
Group D consists of only three teams: South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. After comfortably defeating Qatar 4-1 in their opening match, South Korea secured their spot in the quarterfinals after just one game, as Qatar also lost to Saudi Arabia (0-2) on the 18th, suffering two consecutive defeats and confirming their elimination at the bottom of the group.
South Korea currently tops the group with a superior goal difference (+3) over Saudi Arabia (+2).
A draw in this match is enough for South Korea to advance to the quarterfinals as the group leader.
South Korea is aiming for its fourth consecutive Asian Games men's football title, following victories at the 2014 Incheon, 2018 Jakarta-Palembang, and 2022 Hangzhou (held in 2023) tournaments.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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