[Asian Games] South Korea Football Team Crushes Thailand 4-0... Advances to Round of 16 as Group 1st (Summary)

4 Goals in the First Half... Hong Hyun-seok, Ahn Jae-jun, Eom Won-sang, Lee Jae-ik Score
Group E Final Match Against Bahrain on the 24th

The South Korean men's football team at the Hangzhou Asian Games secured their place in the round of 16 as the top team in their group by defeating Thailand 4-0 in the second match of the group stage.

Led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong, the South Korean football team achieved a dominant 4-0 victory against Thailand in the Group E second match held on the 21st at the Jinhua Sports Center Stadium in Zhejiang Province, China. With wins in both group stage matches, they secured 6 points and confirmed first place in Group E. Previously, the team had recorded a 9-0 victory over Kuwait.

On the afternoon of the 21st, at Jinhua Stadium in Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, China, during the second group stage match of the Hangzhou Asian Games men's football between South Korea and Thailand, South Korean player Eom Won-sang celebrated with his teammates after scoring the team's third goal.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The lineup on the day was offensively oriented. Strikers Park Jae-yong (Jeonbuk Hyundai) and Ahn Jae-jun (Bucheon FC 1995) started, with Ko Young-jun (Pohang Steelers), Eom Won-sang (Ulsan Hyundai), Hong Hyun-seok (KAA Gent), and Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk) positioned in midfield. The back four consisted of Seol Young-woo (Ulsan), Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk), Lee Jae-ik (Seoul E-Land), and Hwang Jae-won (Daegu FC), while goalkeeper Lee Kwang-yeon (Gangwon FC) wore the gloves. Jung Woo-young, who scored a hat-trick in the first match, multi-goal scorer Cho Young-wook, along with Jung Ho-yeon, Park Kyu-hyun, and Lee Han-beom, were on the bench.

The first goal came in the 15th minute of the first half. Ko Young-jun’s right-footed cross was headed into the net by Hong Hyun-seok, breaking through Thailand’s goal. Then, in the 20th minute, after a contest with a Thai defender, Park Jae-yong passed the ball to Ahn Jae-jun, who scored with a powerful right-footed shot to add to the lead.

The third goal was scored in the 39th minute of the first half. Eom Won-sang, using his quick movements to evade a Thai defender, took a shot that resulted in a goal. Riding the momentum of multiple goals, the team continued to threaten the opponent’s goal until just before the end of the first half. In the first half stoppage time at 1 minute, Lee Jae-ik scored by putting the ball into the net following a free kick rebound.

In the second half, the South Korean team maintained their offensive focus. At the start of the second half, Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) was substituted in for Eom Won-sang, and in the 31st minute, Cho Young-wook (Gimcheon) replaced Ko Young-jun on the field. Cho Young-wook, who scored two goals in the first match, intercepted an opponent’s pass aimed at the goalkeeper just four minutes after coming on, creating a scoring chance, but his shot narrowly missed and did not result in a goal.

Three minutes of stoppage time were added in the second half, but neither team managed to score further, ending the match with a 4-0 victory for South Korea.

Following the 9-0 win against Kuwait, South Korea has scored a total of 13 goals in two matches and will play their final group stage match against Bahrain on the 24th. In the round of 16, they will face the runner-up of Group F, which includes North Korea, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, and Taiwan.