Hwang Seon-hong, who activated “Golden Boy” Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) for the first time, led South Korea to a 3-0 win over Bahrain to end their group stage campaign at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games on a high note.
Hwang Sun-hong’s South Korea Under-24 football team defeated Bahrain 3-0 in their final Group E match on Thursday at the Jinhua Sports Center Stadium in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, thanks to second-half goals from Lee Han-beom (Mitwillan), Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk) and Ko Young-joon (Pohang).
It was the third straight victory for Hwang, who had earlier secured a spot in the round of 16 by beating Kuwait 9-0 in the first round and Thailand 4-0 in the second round.
South Korea will face Kyrgyzstan, who dramatically booked their place in the round of 16 with a 4-1 win over Chinese Taipei earlier in the day to move into second place in Group F, at 8:30 p.m. ET on Sunday at the Jinhua Sports Center Stadium.
Bahrain, with two draws and one loss, finished second in the group and qualified for the round of 16.
With the primary goal of reaching the round of 16 accomplished, Hwang gave Lee Kang-in, a “key player” in the team’s third straight loss at the tournament, his first real action, allowing him to get up to speed with his teammates for 36 minutes of the first half.
Lee, who arrived in Hangzhou on Nov. 21, had watched the previous day’s game against Thailand from the stands.
Huang rested the players who had played in the first two games to ensure that they were fit for the round of 16 tournament.
The starting lineup was unchanged from the Thailand match with the exception of Hong Hyun-seok (Ghent).
A 4-2-3-1 tactic was deployed with Cho Young-wook (Gimcheon) up front and Lee Kang-in in the second line.
Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) and Ahn Jae-joon (Bucheon) attacked on the left and right, while Hong Hyun-seok and Jung Ho-yeon (Gwangju) protected the midfield.
From left to right, Park Kyu-hyun (Dresden), Kim Tae-hyun (Sendai), Lee Han-beom (Mittwilan), and Choi Jun (Busan) were the back line.
Min Sung-jun (Incheon) wore the goalkeeping gloves.
South Korea started the game in the third minute with a right-footed free kick from Jung Woo-young at the edge of the penalty area, which forced Bahrain to defend.
With Bahraini players clinging to him in groups of three or four, Lee tried to create space for his teammates by moving wide from the front line to the third line.
At the same time, he sent sharp passes forward.
In the 25th minute, Lee Kang-in’s penetrating pass down the left side led to a cross from Jung Woo-young and a running header from Cho Young-wook, but he was denied by the goalkeeper.
As if planning ahead, Hwang brought Lee Kang-in to the bench in the 36th minute and introduced Ko Young-joon (Pohang).
The Korean offense continued in the second half.
In the 14th minute, Hong Hyun-seok’s thunderous mid-range shot was saved by the goalkeeper, and Ahn Jae-joon’s second shot from the right side of the goal area went wide to the right of the post.
With the forwards struggling, center back Lee Han-beom opened the scoring in the 16th minute of the second half.
Jung Ho-yeon sent in a cross from the left and Lee, lurking on the left side of the goal, split the goal with a header that only changed direction.
Hwang brought on Cho Young-wook, Jeong Woo-young, and Jeong Ho-yeon in the 19th minute and Park Jae-yong, Baek Seung-ho, and Song Min-kyu (Jeonbuk) in the second half. In the 34th minute, Seol Young-woo (Ulsan) came on for Ahn Jae-joon.
It was the first appearance for Song Min-kyu, who was selected as a wild card but missed the previous two matches due to a minor muscle injury.
Hwang Sun-hong, who upped the ante as the game wore on, eventually caught Bahrain’s two-man defense completely off guard.
In the 29th minute of the second half, Baek Seung-ho added another goal with a beautiful mid-range shot.
Baek Seung-ho made a painted motion with his left foot once in the penalty area and then fired a powerful shot with his right foot that rattled the net.
In the 39th minute, Hong Hyun-seok’s ‘courier roving pass’ was perfectly trapped by Go Young-joon with his right foot in the box and he shot straight at goal to seal the 3-0 victory. 스포츠토토
