'Choi Seokhyeon Winning Goal' Korea Advances to U-20 World Cup Semifinals for 2nd Consecutive Time (Summary)

Nigeria wins 1-0 after extended battle
Semifinal clash with Italy on the morning of the 9th

The South Korean U-20 men's soccer team achieved the remarkable feat of reaching the semifinals for the second consecutive time at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, currently being held in Argentina.

Led by coach Kim Eun-jung, the U-20 team won 1-0 after extra time against Nigeria in the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup at the Santiago del Estero Stadium in Argentina on the 5th (Korean time). The winning goal was a collaboration between Lee Seung-won (Gangwon) and Choi Seok-hyun (Dankook University), who had combined for a third goal in the round of 16 match against Ecuador on the 2nd.

After a 0-0 draw in regular time, Choi Seok-hyun scored the winning goal with a header 5 minutes into extra time. Lee Seung-won delivered a corner kick from the left side, and Choi redirected it into the right side of the opponent’s goal.

Choi Seok-hyun scored headers in two consecutive matches. In a post-match interview, Choi said, "Lee Seung-won delivered the ball so well that I just headed it," expressing his joy by saying, "I feel indescribably happy." He added, "Today’s match was the toughest, but I’m glad we secured the win despite being very tired. We will prepare well for the match against Italy and play a good game."

Choi Seok-hyun of the Under-20 (U-20) men's soccer team is celebrating after scoring the winning header goal in the first half of extra time during the quarterfinal match against Nigeria at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup held at Santiago del Estero Stadium in Argentina on the morning of the 5th (Korean time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Team captain Lee Seung-won recorded his fourth assist of the tournament. He also scored a goal in the group stage match against Honduras, bringing his total to five attacking points. Lee has been a key player, contributing to five of the eight goals scored by coach Kim Eun-jung’s team in this tournament.

If Lee Seung-won adds just one more goal or assist, he will join Lee Kang-in (Mallorca), who won the Golden Ball?the MVP award?at the previous U-20 World Cup held in Poland in 2019, as players with six attacking points in the U-20 World Cup (Lee Kang-in had 2 goals and 4 assists).

In this match, the team again focused on solid defense and practical play while conceding possession to the opponent. Although they launched several sharp attacks, they did not create many shooting opportunities overall. There were only three shots during the 90 minutes of regular time, none of which were on target. The only shot on target?and the winning goal?came during extra time.

As indicated by the possession stats of 32% to 46%, Nigeria generally controlled the ball and created many attacking chances but failed to capitalize on decisive opportunities. They recorded 22 shots, but only three were on target.

With this result, South Korea has advanced to the semifinals for the second consecutive time following their runner-up finish at the 2019 Poland tournament. This marks the fifth time South Korean men's soccer has reached the semifinals in FIFA-organized competitions: the 1983 and 2019 U-20 World Cups, the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, the 2012 London Olympics, and now this tournament. Their best achievement remains the runner-up finish at the 2019 U-20 World Cup.

The team aims to reach the final for the second consecutive time by facing Italy in the semifinals. The semifinal match against Italy will kick off at 6 a.m. on the 9th at the La Plata Stadium. Italy advanced to the semifinals by defeating Colombia 3-1 in their quarterfinal match the day before.