National Football Team Enjoys Relaxing Rainy Training After Decisive Victory, Captain Lee Ki-hyuk Rests

South Korea's under-23 (U-23) men's national football team, which secured a resounding 4-1 victory in their opening match of the group stage at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, stepped into recovery training with a light pace.

Led by head coach Lee Min-sung, the national squad sweated it out on the morning of September 16 at a training ground in Ikeda-cho, Handa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, split into a 10-member recovery group and an 11-member normal training group.

Captain Lee Ki-hyuk (Gangwon FC) did not accompany the team to the training ground and instead took a full day of rest at the hotel, leaving a total of 21 players to complete the training session.

A national team official explained, "Lee Ki-hyuk is not injured; this is a measure to manage the accumulated fatigue carrying over from his club league schedule."

Players who saw significant playing time the previous day, such as Eom Ji-sung (Swansea City), Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic), and Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City), calmly adjusted their condition through stretching and basic core workouts.

Meanwhile, the rest of the players continued high-intensity training despite pouring rain.

Starting with light jogging and footwork drills, they raised their match fitness and activity levels through rondo (ball-keeping) and shooting drills.

South Korea cruised to a 4-1 victory over Qatar on the previous day, powered by a stellar hat-trick from Eom Ji-sung.

Aiming for a fourth consecutive Asian Games men's football title following the 2014 Incheon, 2018 Jakarta-Palembang, and 2022 Hangzhou (held in 2023) tournaments, South Korea secured a fresh start and three crucial points.

Men's football at this tournament features 15 countries divided into four groups for the group stage, followed by a knockout tournament starting from the quarterfinals to determine the champion.

After regrouping, the national team will play its second group stage match against Saudi Arabia on September 22, exactly one week after the date of its first match.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.