Korea defeated Kyrgyzstan 1-0 Saturday to move closer to a berth in the Asian Olympic men’s football qualifiers next year.
Hong Yun-sang’s third-minute goal stood as the winner for South Korea in their second Group B match of the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup qualification tournament at Changwon Football Center in the southeastern city of Changwon.
Korea, now at the top of the group with three points, will close out the event with a match against Myanmar at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Korea will win Group B and qualify for the AFC U-23 Asian Cup with at least a draw against Myanmar, who have one point after a draw with Kyrgyzstan, Wednesday.
The AFC U-23 Asian Cup, kicking off in April in Qatar, will also serve as the Asian qualifiers for the Paris Olympics next summer. The top three teams will earn direct tickets to France, and the fourth-ranked team will face Guinea, the fourth-place team from the African qualifiers, in a playoff match.
Korea will try to qualify for their 10th consecutive Olympic tournament.
There are 11 groups in action in the U-23 Asian Cup qualification event. The 11 group winners and four best runners-up will compete at the Asian Cup, with the host country Qatar automatically qualified.
Qatar ended up in Group B alongside South Korea, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar, but Group G matches involving Qatar are treated as friendlies and do not count toward the group standings.
Source : Korea Times