S. Korea loses to 10-man Vietnam on penalties to finish 4th at Asian U-23 football tournament

South Korean players react to their loss to Vietnam in the third-place match at the Asian Football Confederation U-23 Asian Cup at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 23, in this photo provided by the Korea Football Association. Yonhap

South Korea finished fourth at the top Asian men’s under-23 football tournament in Saudi Arabia following a loss to 10-man Vietnam.

Coached by Lee Min-sung, South Korea dropped to Vietnam 7-6 on penalties in the third-place match at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in Jeddah, Friday (local time). The two sides were tied at 2-2 after 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time, before Vietnam, coached by South Korean Kim Sang-sik, prevailed in the nail-biting shootout.

This was Vietnam’s best performance at this AFC event since they finished as the runner-up under a different South Korean-born coach, Park Hang-seo, in 2018.

South Korea had snuck into the quarterfinals after finishing in second place in Group C behind Uzbekistan. They knocked off Australia 2-1 in the quarterfinals but then lost to Japan 1-0 in the semifinals.

Vietnam won all three matches in Group A and eliminated the United Arab Emirates in the quarterfinals with a 3-2 victory. However, Vietnam suffered a 3-0 loss against China in the semifinals to drop to the third-place contest.

South Korea held a 75.6-24.4 edge in ball possession and outshot Vietnam 12-3, while also finishing with a 32-5 advantage in shot attempts. South Korea had 61 crosses to Vietnam’s four.

However, South Korea couldn’t break through against a dogged Vietnamese defense early, and conceded the match’s first goal to Nguyen Quoc Viet at the half-hour mark.

South Korea thought they had been awarded a penalty four minutes later when Nguyen Dinh Bac collided with Jung Seung-bae, but a video review confirmed there would be no spot kick for the trailing team.

Kim Tae-won equalized for South Korea in the 69th minute but Nguyen Dinh Bac responded for Vietnam only two minutes later.

With South Korea on the verge of a defeat, the match took a dramatic turn with Nguyen Dinh Bac being shown a direct red card in the 86th minute. South Korea sent the match into the extra session thanks to Shin Min-ha’s last-gasp goal deep into stoppage time.

But the extra time solved nothing, and then the first six kickers for both teams converted their shots in the shootout.

It came down to the seventh takers. After Bae Hyun-seo was denied by Cao Van Binh, Nguyen Thanh Nhan beat Hwang Jae-yun to the left corner to seal Vietnam’s win.

Coach Lee said afterward the U-23 squad remained a work in progress as they try to seek a fourth consecutive gold medal at this year’s Asian Games, another U-23 competition.

“We are not a complete team yet. We are a team that should continue to improve,” Lee said at his postmatch press conference. “We should have played with a little more composure in extra time. We did not have technical skills to attack the opponent’s defensive line when they went down a man. If we can get sharper in attacking the half-space and the final third, we will be a much better team.”

Kim Sang-sik said he had all the confidence in the world in his players despite the late ejection.

“These players were running on fumes but they displayed great mental fortitude,” he said. “I am really proud of them. I’d like to congratulate them for grabbing this victory. This match will be an opportunity for our players to grow and take another step forward.”