U-22 national soccer team's first appearance continues to be tempered with closed-door warm-up matches
U-22 national soccer team's first appearance continues to be tempered with closed-door warm-up matches
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The men's under-22 (U-22) national soccer team of "Lee Min-sung-ho" will focus on boosting its organizational power through closed warm-up matches.
The U-22 national team, led by head coach Lee Min-sung, will play a closed friendly match against the Australian U-22 national team at Jeongwang Stadium in Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do, on the afternoon of the 9th.
On the 5th, South Korea drew 0-0 against Australia in a friendly match for the U-22 national soccer team invited by Hana Bank.
The two warm-up matches against Australia were held to prepare for the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers to be held in September.
In particular, as this game will be played behind closed doors, coach Lee is expected to test with more diverse players.
The Korea Football Association appointed Lee as the head coach of the 14th U-22 national team on the 27th of last month.
He replaces Hwang Sun-hong (current Daejeon), the former coach who was decided after 13 months of playing.
The goal is to win the gold medal at the 2026 Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games and the 2028 Los Angeles (LA) Olympic medal.
At the inauguration press conference, head coach Lee stressed, "The U-22 national team is an important age group that can advance to the national team in the future as well as participate in important international competitions such as the Asian Games and Olympics."
"I will do my best to make soccer happy for the players and the people by pouring all my know-how and experience into it," he said.
Manager Lee emphasized "balance," "teamwork" and "speed," signaling an "aggressive and dynamic football that leads to forward pressure and rapid offense and defense conversion."
Lee tried to win his debut match against Australia, but failed.
Jeong Jae-sang (Daegu), Yoon Jae-seok (Ulsan), and Chae Hyun-woo (Anyang), led by Bae Joon-ho (Stoke, England), who also played an active role in the Hong Myung-bo, were selected, but they remained silent.
The same was true of Kim Yong-hak (Portimonens, Portugal), Moon Min-seo (Gwangju), and Lee Seung-joon (Korpakan, UAE), who were deployed to the ground as a replacement in the second half.
It was a pity that the sharpness decreased as we entered the end of the game.
After the game, Lee said, "There were some things that came out in good ways, but I also felt a lot of things that I lacked. It's a shame that I didn't score in the game where I scored a goal."
Lee threw his homework to the players to strengthen their speed and physical strength.
"안전놀이터 I felt that I had to work harder and speed up the transition," he said, adding, "There are many players who have good skills." If the physical part goes up here, the players will play much better football," he stressed.
Coach Lee will continue to distinguish between jade and stone through a closed warm-up match against Australia.