Uneven Pitch, Dim Lights... What Happened Ahead of the South Korea-Japan Final

[Anchor]

The men's national football team, aiming for its fourth consecutive title, will face host nation Japan for the gold medal tomorrow night. Despite the tournament's overall sluggish ticket sales, tomorrow's match has drawn intense interest, with scalped tickets even appearing. However, due to continued poor tournament organization, our national team is facing difficulties in preparing for the final.

Reporter Ha Seong-nyong has the details.

[Reporter]

The Lee Min-sung squad is putting the finishing touches on its training at a sub-par training facility where the turf is worn out in places and the lighting is dim.

The organizing committee unilaterally canceled the official training session at Toyota Stadium, where the final will be held, just a day before the match due to pitch condition issues. Moreover, the team's request to change the alternative training venue, which also has poor turf, was rejected.

Unlike the Japanese national team, which has already played four matches at Toyota Stadium where the final takes place, we are at a disadvantage regarding pitch adaptation as we have not been able to play or even hold an official training session there.

Having broken a sweat over bus dispatch issues even during the group stage, the national team members seem almost accustomed to the sloppy tournament administration.

[Lee Min-sung / Head Coach, Asian Games Men's Football National Team: Problems have arisen since the beginning of the tournament, but since that is something we must overcome and rise above, we are not letting it bother us and will do our best to win the gold medal we are aiming for.]

Having defeated Japan in the previous two finals to achieve a three-peat, South Korean football is burning with determination for its fourth straight gold medal.

Led by joint top scorers Um Ji-sung, Kim Myung-jun, and Lee Young-jun, the team is determined to break through Japan's ironclad defense—which has conceded only one goal in five matches despite fielding an under-21 squad—with its potent firepower that has averaged three goals per game.

[Lee Ki-hyuk / Captain, Asian Games Men's Football National Team: Starting with myself, if I show just how desperate we are on the pitch, I believe all the players will follow along well, so we are steeling our minds and trying to prepare thoroughly.]

Despite dismal box office numbers with overall ticket sales falling short of 50 percent, interest in tomorrow's match is burning hot.

All 45,000 seats are sold out, and tickets are being traded on resale sites at prices exceeding 3.5 times their face value, drawing attention as the biggest blockbuster match of this tournament.

(Photo: Yonhap News) Reportedly by Yang Doo-won | Video by Lee Hong-myeong | Graphics by Cho Su-in
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.