Invitee Korea win West Asia Football Federation Championship

The U-23 Korean national team beat Australia 4-3 on penalties in an entirely not west Asian final to the West Asia Football Federation (WAFF) Championship final on Tuesday, winning the title in their first appearance at the tournament.

Korea's Kang Seong-jin, left, celebrates scoring a goal during the West Asia Football Federation (WAFF) Championship final at Al Fateh Stadium in Al Mubarraz, Saudi Arabia in a photo shared on the WAFF's official Instagram account on Tuesday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The U-23 Korean national team beat Australia 4-3 on penalties in an entirely not west Asian final to the West Asia Football Federation (WAFF) Championship final on Tuesday, winning the title in their first appearance at the tournament.

The score tied at 2-2 after a double from Australian forward Alou Kuol and goals from Lee Young-jun and Kang Seong-jin at Al Fateh Stadium in Saudi Arabia, forcing a penalty shootout.

Korea scored four penalties and goalkeeper Kim Jeong-hoon saved two penalties from Saudi Arabia, winning the shootout 4-3 and securing the WAFF Championship title for Korea.

Having joined this year’s WAFF Championship — in which four teams from West Asia and four invitees compete — as one of the four invited teams, Korea beat Thailand and hosts Saudi Arabia in the earlier stage even without manager Hwang Sun-hong, who has been with the senior national team since last month as interim manager.

He is expected to return to the U-23 squad now that the senior team’s two World Cup qualifiers against Thailand — which Korea drew 1-1 last week and won 3-0 on Tuesday — are over.

The Korea Football Association said last month that a new permanent manager should take the helm by early May.

Once Hwang returns to the U-23 team, he will immediately have to prepare for the upcoming AFC U-23 Asian Cup that begins on April 15, where Korea has to finish in the top three to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics that start in July.

The upcoming Olympics will be a bigger challenge for Hwang after the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, where the U-23 team won a gold medal.

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