adminCan South Korea go all the way to the top of the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup undefeated? With the four finalists set, South Korea remains the only team that hasn’t lost a game.
South Korea advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023 with a 1-0 win over Nigeria at the Estadio Unico Madre de Cludades in Santiago del Estero, Argentina, on Friday (June 5), thanks to a header from Choi Seok-hyun five minutes into extra time.
South Korea will face Italy, who reached the last four with a 3-1 win over Colombia, on Sept. 9 at the Estadio Unigo Diego Armando Maradona in La Plata for a place in the final.
In the other semifinal, Uruguay punched their ticket to the last four with a 2-0 victory over the United States, who advanced to the quarterfinals with the only clean sheet. Uruguay will face Israel, who beat Brazil to reach the last four in their first tournament.
With the elimination of the United States, who had won every game from the group stage to the round of 16 without conceding a goal, South Korea is the only team to reach the last four unbeaten.
Israel were on the brink of elimination with one draw and one loss in their two group games, but came from behind to win their final game against Japan to finish with a record of one win, one draw, and one loss. Italy and Uruguay both had two wins and one loss. South Korea is the only team to not lose a game in the group stage, and all four quarters of the tournament were filled by teams that finished second in their group.
This can serve as a psychological confidence booster for South Korea in the remaining semifinals, finals, and third- and fourth-place matches. The South Koreans have shown themselves to be competitive enough through the group stage and have beaten South American and African powerhouses such as Ecuador and Nigeria in the tournament. They also knocked off the favorites, France, in their first game of the group stage.
Italy, of course, is the strongest opponent South Korea has faced in the tournament. Although they lost 0-2 in their second group game against Nigeria, they boast a potent offense, scoring three goals in the first half against Brazil. Cesar Casaday is their top scorer with six goals in the tournament.
However, it’s also important to consider that Italy has conceded in all but their final group game against the Dominican Republic. In their first game against Brazil, Italy scored three goals in the first half before conceding two. They also lost to England and Colombia in the tournament by one goal each. South Korea, which has scored in every game except for the Gambia, is more than capable of opening up the Italian defense.토토사이트
If South Korea can defeat Italy, they will reach their second straight final and win the tournament for the first time ever. Italy is the de facto favorite among the four finalists. Israel finished as runners-up at last year’s European Under-19 Championship, but they are classified as underdogs, while Uruguay are also considered to be of lesser quality than Italy.