Hwang Sun Hong-ho wins third consecutive gold medal against Japan… Corporal Cho Young-wook scores late winner
Korea extends record to six titles… Lee Kang-in, 20 others granted special military service exemption
Hwang Sun-hong led South Korea to its third straight Asian Games title with an upset win over Japan.
Hwang Sun-hong’s South Korea U-24 football team came from behind to defeat Japan U-22 2-1 in the men’s football final of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games on Sunday at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou, China, thanks to a late goal from Cho Young-wook (Gimcheon) in the 11th minute.
It was the first back-to-back men’s soccer titles at the Asian Games for Korea, which also won the 2014 Incheon and 2018 Jakarta-Palembang titles.
South Korea increased its tally of men’s soccer titles at the Games to six, further extending its lead over second-placed Iran (four).
South Korea’s winning streak against Japan at the Asian Games stretches to five games. South Korea has not lost to Japan since a 3-2 victory in the 1994 quarterfinals in Hiroshima.
South Korea now leads the all-time series against Japan 8-1.
The win is even more significant because it comes after South Korea was recently outclassed by Japan in a head-to-head matchup between the adult and age-group national teams.
However, while South Korea fielded a full complement of players under the age limit of 24, Japan fielded a team with players as young as 22 in anticipation of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Taeguk Warriors will be exempted from military service for their victory.
Of Hwang’s 22 players, 20 were exempted from military service, including Kim Jung-hoon (Jeonbuk), who has already fulfilled his military service with Gimcheon Commerce, and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who was granted an exemption due to a knee injury.
Cho Young-wook, who currently plays for Gimcheon with the rank of corporal, will be discharged early.
Lee Kang-in, who has been touted as the “next big thing” in Korean soccer, will be able to complete his military service at 22, paving the way for a more stable career in Europe.
Hwang Sun-hong scored 27 goals and conceded just three in a dominant performance to win the title.
Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) finished as the tournament’s top scorer, exploding for a whopping eight goals and serving as the spearhead of Hwang’s formidable offense.
Having accomplished the first task of winning an Asian Games title, Hwang’s quest for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has gained momentum.
Hwang opted for a 4-2-3-1 with Lee Kang-in on the right side of the second line and Cho Young-wook up front.
Jung Woo-young and Ko Young-joon (Pohang) attacked alongside Lee in the second line, while ‘Captain’ Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk) and Jung Ho-yeon (Gwangju) were responsible for the midfield.
Park Kyu-hyun (Dresden), Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk), Lee Han-beom (Meatwillan), and Hwang Jae-won (Daegu) formed the back line, while Lee Kwang-yeon (Gangwon) wore the goalkeeping gloves.
Japan, who pressed hard from the start, scored the first goal in the second minute.
Gaines Sato drove down the left side and sent in a cross that was met by Masato Shigemi and finished by Uchino’s right-footed shot.
It was Korea’s first early goal of the tournament.
South Korea started the game by attacking Japan’s flanks, and it became a one-sided affair midway through the first half.
Korea broke the deadlock in the 27th minute with a header from Jung Woo-young.
Hwang Jae-won’s diagonal cross from the right was met by Jung Woo-young, who was lurking on the left side of the goal, and he headed it into the back of the net.
In the 32nd minute, Lee Kang-in was shown a yellow card for a rough tackle on Jun Nishikawa.
South Korea continued to dominate in the second half and finally broke the deadlock with a goal from Cho Young-wook in the 11th minute.
A pass from Hwang Jae-won, who dared to overlap near the halfway line, found its way through Jung Woo-young to Cho Young-wook. Cho calmly shot with his right foot to split the goal.
Hwang made a change in the 17th minute of the second half, bringing Ko Young-jun and Jung Woo-young to the bench and introducing Song Min-kyu (Jeonbuk) and Hong Hyun-seok (Hent).
In the 27th minute, he took off Lee Kang-in and Cho Young-wook and brought on Ahn Jae-joon (Bucheon) and Uhm Won-sang (Ulsan).
South Korea continued to push forward into Japan’s territory, but Ahn Jae-joon’s surprise mid-range shot in the 37th minute went just wide of the left side of the goal, while Uhm Won-sang’s shot on the counterattack a minute later was saved by the goalkeeper. 파워볼게임