China shows fear of Hwang Sun-hong’s Korean soccer’s membrane-strengthening power.
South Korea’s Asian Games football team, led by Hwang Sun-hong, eased into the quarterfinals with a 5-1 victory over Kyrgyzstan in the men’s football round of 16 at the Jinhua Sports Center Stadium in Zhejiang, China, on Sunday (Sept. 27). ‘German Wave’ Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) led the way with a multi-goal performance, while Baek Seung-ho (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Cho Young-wook (Gimcheon Sangmu) and Hong Hyun-seok (KAA Hent) also scored.메이저사이트
South Korea’s next opponent will be hosts China. China defeated dark horse Qatar 1-0 in the round of 16. The two teams played a hard-fought match, including a scuffle in the final minutes, but China had the last laugh. The quarterfinals will be played on March 1 at the Huanglong Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou.
Chinese media outlet Sohu.com said on the day, “China has reached the quarterfinals of the Asian Games, but its next opponent is too strong. Defending champion South Korea is coming off a 5-1 thrashing in Kyrgyzstan.” Another report from Sohu.com acknowledged that “South Korea is the strongest team with Lee Kang-in, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain (France), and Jung Woo-young of Stuttgart (Germany).”
China’s Sina Sports also reported, “South Korea defeated Kyrgyzstan 5-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. They will face China in the quarterfinals.”
South Korea has been a formidable offense at the tournament. After four games, Korea has broken the Asian Games record for most goals in a tournament. They scored a whopping 21 goals. In Group E of the tournament, South Korea won 9-0 against Kuwait in the first round, 4-0 against Thailand in the second round, and 3-0 against Bahrain in the third round. They also had a five-goal blitz in the quarterfinals.
South Korea will be looking to win their third consecutive Asian Games gold medal after winning the last two in Incheon 2014 and Jakarta-Palembang 2018. In 2014, Hwang scored 13 goals in seven games at Incheon and 19 goals in seven games at Jakarta-Palembang. Hwang surpassed that total in four games.
A gold medal would allow Lee Kang-in, Jung Woo-young and the rest of the Korean squad to receive military service benefits. In the Jakarta-Palembang tournament, “team captain” Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Kim Min-jae (Napoli) and others won gold medals and received military service benefits.
According to Sina Sports, Chinese fans commented on the “military service benefit. Along with the gold medal, they said that the sense of purpose that comes with military service benefits boosts South Korea’s fighting spirit. “South Korea has been ruthless in this tournament, and if they win another gold medal, they can get military immunity,” said one Chinese fan, while another predicted that “South Korea will score four goals against China”.
Another said, “It was good to see China win against Qatar. They deserve credit for both their performance and the result. But the next game won’t be easy,” wrote another.
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