[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Seul-gi] The South Korea under-23 (U-23) national football team will play the final Olympic qualifier against China today (9th) at 10:15 PM.
Today, the U-23 team led by coach Kim Hak-beom will play the first match of Group C in the AFC U-23 Championship group stage at the Tinsulanon Stadium in Songkhla, Thailand. This U-23 Championship also serves as the final qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In this match, except for the host country Japan, the top three teams will qualify for the Olympics. If Japan finishes in the top three, then the top four teams will earn Olympic tickets.
If Kim Hak-beom’s team qualifies for the Tokyo Olympics, the U-23 team will achieve the historic feat of qualifying for the Olympic finals for nine consecutive times. Coach Kim Hak-beom also led the U-23 team to a gold medal at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.
Coach Kim expressed his ambition to compete based on the unity of players who have trained together for a long time.
Coach Kim said, "We must challenge and definitely secure the ticket to the Olympics. Together with our players, we will mobilize everything to surely bring home the Olympic ticket."
Previously, the U-23 team drew 1-1 in a closed evaluation match against Australia held in Malaysia. Therefore, the prevailing view is that they must win against China to qualify for the Olympics.
Meanwhile, the first match of the Olympic men’s football final qualifier between South Korea and China will be broadcast at 10 PM on JTBC and JTBC3 FOX Sports. The broadcast will be hosted by caster Lim Kyung-jin and commentator Hyun Young-min.
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