Yoon Do-young and Yang Jun-hyuk of the South Korean U-17 team proved to be a talent to watch in their World Cup loss to the United States with their dynamic and sharp moves.
The Byun Sung-hwan-led Korea U-17 men’s national soccer team suffered a 1-3 defeat against the United States of America in their Group E match at the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2023 at the Jakarta International Stadium in Indonesia at 9 p.m. KST on Wednesday.
In the seventh minute of the first half, a low cross from the right side of the U.S. box was cleared by the Korean defense, but the rebounded ball was headed home by U.S. forward Nymphasha Birchmas with a right-footed shot from the center of the box.
South Korea took the lead in the 35th minute when Yang Min-hyuk’s right-footed mid-range shot from outside the box after a central dribble was blocked by the U.S. goalkeeper, but captain Kang Min-hyuk pounced on the rebound with his right foot to tie the game at 1-1.
However, in the fourth minute of the second half, Hong Sung-min saved a shot that was too easily cleared from inside the box, but Cruz Medina scored on the rebound with a left-footed shot to make it 1-2 for South Korea. In the 28th minute, Birchmas, who scored the first goal, dribbled from the right to the center of the box and even with eight defenders in the box, his low left-footed shot found the back of the net to give South Korea a 1-3 loss.
There was a silver lining to the loss. The individual performances of Yoon Do-young and Yang Min-hyuk, both wing forwards, stood out. In the fourth minute, a long cross from the left was met by Yoon Do-young on the right side of the box with a dynamic left-footed bicycle kick that hit the far post. If it had gone in, it would have booked the best goal of the World Cup.
In the 23rd minute, Yoon took a low cross from the right, spun 360 degrees in the box and struck a very technical shot. In the 40th minute, on the right sideline, Yoon dribbled down the flank before cutting in front of the right post in the box and passing to the center. The cutback pass found Seo Jung-hyuk, who ran onto it and shot from a no-mark opportunity, but it was saved in front of the keeper and South Korea missed a great chance.
Yoon wasn’t the only one. In the 32nd minute, Yang Min-hyuk broke free on a dribble from the left side of the field and quickly cut through three defenders to get into the center of the box, where he hit the ball outside as two new defenders clung to him before 토토사이트 firing a right-footed shot from the center of the box. The shot was well placed down low but was unlucky not to hit the post.
There were seven U.S. defenders involved in Yang’s dribble, and he was able to beat them all to the ball and find the back of the net.
While it’s unfortunate that it wasn’t just their individual performances that shined, Yoon Do-young and Yang Min-hyuk showed Korean soccer fans that they have a bright future ahead of them.