“Yuya Fukunaga introduced early as Japan looks to change the game's tempo and increase their attacking threat.”
“Eom Ji-sung scores the only goal of the match, finishing off a move that followed a corner won just four minutes earlier.”
Pivotal“Nelson Ishiwatari booked as Japan's frustration boils over while chasing an equalizer against a resolute Korean defense.”
“Jun-ho Bae booked late on as Korea defends desperately to protect their slender lead in the closing stages.”
Korea Republic U23
Japan U23
Japan controlled large swathes of the match, racking up 58 dangerous attacks to Korea's 33 and doubling their opponents' shot count, but wastefulness in front of goal and a lack of killer instinct proved costly. Korea Republic, content to sit in and absorb pressure, made their limited opportunities count, with Eom Ji-sung's 61st-minute strike arriving moments after a corner and a fresh substitution shook up the game's rhythm. The win keeps Korea's Asian Games campaign on track and extends their edge in continental youth football bragging rights, while Japan will rue their inefficiency despite dominating possession battles and territorial play. A flurry of late substitutions and four yellow cards in the final 30 minutes underlined the physical and mental strain as Japan searched desperately for an equalizer that never came.
How entertaining was this match?
Yellow card issued to Hyun-seo Bae.
On comes Park Seung Soo, off goes Bae Jun-Ho.
On Myung-jun Kim comes on, and Young-Jun Lee goes off.
Yellow card issued to Bae Jun-Ho.
Kenshin Yasuda is substituted for Hisatsugu Ishii.
Yudai Shimamoto is substituted off for Yutaka Michiwaki.
Nelson IshiwatariYellow CardYellow card issued to Nelson Ishiwatari.
Substitution: Nelson Ishiwatari comes on for Yotaro Nakajima.
Sena Ishibashi is on, and Yuya Fukunaga is off.
On comes Sang-Yun Kang, off goes Min-Hyuk Yang.
Goal! Eom Ji-Sung scores to make it 1-0.
Corner awarded.
Hwang Do Yoon comes on for Lee Gi-Hyuk.
The first half ends with a score of 0-0.
Corner awarded.
Corner awarded.
Yellow card for Lee Gi-Hyuk.
On Yuya Fukunaga, off Nwadike Uche Bryan Seo.
Corner awarded.
Kick-off has occurred!
South Korea and Japan collide in a third consecutive Asian Games football final, this time on Japanese soil at Toyota Stadium. Korea arrives unbeaten in the knockouts chasing a historic fourth straight gold, while Japan — unbeaten in nine straight matches and fresh off a dramatic penalty shootout win — aim to finally stop their neighbors' dominance at home.
