U-20 squad win two practice games ahead of World Cup

The U-20 Korean national team beat Incheon University 3-1 on Wednesday in the second of two training games ahead of the U-20 World Cup next month.

The U-20 Korean national team trains at the Paju National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi on Monday. [NEWS1]

The U-20 Korean national team beat Incheon University 3-1 on Wednesday in the second of two training games ahead of the U-20 World Cup next month.

The young Taeguk Warriors had earlier beaten K League 1 side Incheon United 2-1 on Tuesday, one day after training began at the Paju National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi.

U-20 manager Kim Eun-jung called up 25 players including 10 from the squad that reached the semifinals of the AFC U-20 Asian Cup last month, like Kim Jun-hong, Hwang In-taek and Cho Young-kwang.

The Taeguk Warriors played Incheon United Tuesday as part of training, although the K League 1 side were without most of their key players since they were due to play Ulsan Hyundai in a K league game later same day.

Hong Si-hoo scored the opening goal for Incheon United in the 38th minute, but the U-20 squad bounced back 10 minutes later with Lee Seon-ho’s equalizer, followed by Park Seung-ho’s winner in the 54th minute that secured the team’s 2-1 victory.

The young Taeguk Warriors rode that momentum the next day, beating Incheon University 3-1.

Incheon University also got on the scoresheet first with Hwang In-taek’s own goal in the 34th minute, but Park equalized in the 67th minute before Lee Hyun-seo struck twice in the 71st and 79th minute to win the second practice game.

The team's performance over those two practice games will help inform manager Kim, who is set to call up a final squad on May 5.

Korea qualified for the World Cup after finishing the AFC U-20 Asian Cup as semifinalists last month — the final four teams at the U-20 Asian Cup earn a place in the U-20 World Cup.

The U-20 World Cup is biennial and was set to take place in 2021, but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Korea narrowly missed their first ever World Cup title at the 2019 tournament, losing 3-1 to Ukraine in the final.

The U-20 squad will gather again on Monday for their last training session, before they face France, Honduras and Gambia in Group F of the U-20 World Cup that starts on May 20 in Argentina.

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