South Korea out of U-20 Asian Cup title race after 3-0 loss to North

South Korea struggled against North Korea at Dustlik Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, failing to score a single goal in a disappointing contrast to the group stage.

The U-20 South Korean women’s national team players, in black, react after losing 3-0 to North Korea in the semifinal at the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup at Dustlik Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

The U-20 South Korean women’s national team suffered a 3-0 loss to North Korea in the semifinals at the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup on Wednesday.

South Korea struggled against North Korea at Dustlik Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, failing to score a single goal in a disappointing contrast to the group stage, in which they scored 20 goals over three matches as the most prolific team in the round.

North Korean players pressed South Korea hard and managed multiple shots throughout the game, with Choe Il-son opening the scoring in the 45th minute.

Jong Kum added another goal in the 51st minute, followed by Hwang Yu-yong’s goal that ended the match 3-0.

The difference in attack was clear, with North Korea recording 17 shots in total compared to South Korea’s three.

North Korea will now face defending champions Japan in the final on Saturday.

If North Korea wins, it will be their second-ever Asian Cup victory, while Japan would lift their seventh trophy.

South Korea, meanwhile, will play a third-place match against Australia, also on Saturday. The two sides earlier clashed in Group A, with South Korea losing the game 2-1.

Despite Wednesday’s loss, South Korea secured a ticket to the upcoming U-20 World Cup in Colombia that starts in August, as Asian Cup rules stipulate that all semifinalists qualify for the World Cup.

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