Lee Young-joon leads Korea to 2-0 win over China in AFC U-23 Asian Cup

Korea's U-23 national football team secured a 2-0 victory over China in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup group stage game, with forward Lee Young-joon scoring both goals.

Korea's Lee Young-joon celebrates scoring a goal during an AFC U-23 Asian Cup group stage match against China at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Friday. [YONHAP]

Lee Young-joon scored a double to lead Korea to a 2-0 win over China in an AFC U-23 Asian Cup group stage game on Friday, earning Korea two straight wins in the tournament and setting them up to secure a place in the quarterfinals.

The young Taeguk Warriors needed a win at this stage of the tournament — which serves as a Paris Olympics qualifying event where the top three finishers earn tickets to the Games — to put themselves in a position to lock in a spot in the knockout stage after Japan beat the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Group B.

The game between Japan and the UAE was scheduled to end later in the day as of press time. Korea and Japan were both due to reach the knockout stage, if Japan beat the UAE.

A win for Korea did not seem promising in the early going, with the young Taeguk Warriors struggling to penetrate China’s sturdy defense in the center of the pitch, leaving themselves no option but to attack from the sides like they did during their 1-0 win over the UAE on Wednesday.

Korea's Kim Min-woo, right, dribbles the ball during an AFC U-23 Asian Cup group stage match against China at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Friday. [YONHAP]

Korea’s defense looked shaky, with defenders failing to make proactive movements to prevent Chinese forwards from recording shots in dangerous positions.

By the 24th minute, China recorded five shots compared to one shot by Korea.

Korea, however, showed better goal decisiveness with forward Lee Young-joon opening the scoring in the 34th minute after receiving a tidy pass from Kang Sang-yoon in the penalty area.

Lee’s goal seemed to put extra pressure on China, who started to play more aggressively while imposing physical challenges. The scoreboard, however, stayed at 1-0 through the end of the first half.

The second half saw more aggression from China that allowed them to snatch the ball constantly and attack effectively in the Korea territory. But goalkeeper Kim Jeong-hoon came to the rescue each time it could have counted for China.

Lee Young-joon again showed that goal decisiveness is what matters, smashing in a shot in the 69th minute thanks to an assist by Lee Tae-seok.

That goal was the second time the duo had displayed good cohesion in the tournament, with Lee Tae-seok having assisted the winner by Lee Young-joon against the UAE.

Lee Young-joon’s second goal sealed Korea’s 2-0 win. Korea did not lock in a quarterfinal place immediately after the final whistle, though, as it was contingent on Japan beating the UAE later in the day.

Korea have shown a solid performance in the Asian Cup despite the absence of Europe-based players like Stoke City midfielder Bae Jun-ho, Brentford defender Kim Ji-soo and Celtic midfielder Yang Hyun-jun, whose clubs refused to release them for the tournament due to the ongoing European football schedule. The Asian Cup doesn’t run during a FIFA international break.

While the top three finishers in the Asian Cup directly earn berths at the Paris Olympics, the fourth-placed team must win a playoff against Guinea to qualify for the Games.

Korea have been successful in previous Olympic qualifiers, having set the record of the only team to have qualified for the Games nine straight times.

The young Taeguk Warriors will play the last group stage game against age-old rivals Japan on April 22.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]