Kim Eun-joong’s U-20 national team earned a 2-2 draw against Honduras in their second group game of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023, kicking off at 6 a.m. ET on Saturday (June 26) at the Mendoza Stadium in Mendoza, Argentina. It was a stunning comeback from 0-2 down to equalize.
With the 1-1 draw, South Korea sits in second place in the group with four points, behind leader Gambia (six), and has improved its chances of advancing to the Round of 16.
South Korea fielded a nearly identical starting 11 to the one used against France. With the exception of Bae Joon-ho, who returned from injury to start, there were no changes to the rest of the lineup.
South Korea surrendered an early lead to Honduras. The Hondurans were aggressive, moving from side to side and looking for chances.
Amidst the chaos, a call went against Korea. In the 19th minute, the referee called a foul on Choi Seok-hyun for blocking Daniel Carter in the right corner of the penalty box. The referee initially waved it off, but after running VAR, he awarded a penalty kick. It was a somewhat ambiguous call. It wasn’t clear whether there was a collision or not, and Carter appeared to lose his footing and fall. However, the referee saw it as a foul on Choi Seok-hyun. It was a rather ambiguous call for South Korea.
In the end, David Ochoa converted the kick and South Korea went down 0-1. It was the second straight game that South Korea conceded a penalty kick.
Five minutes later, there was another twist. Ochoa, who had scored the first goal, was fighting for the ball on the touchline when he punched Bae Seo-Joon. As the hit was made with intent and with his arm, the referee checked the VAR and showed a red card.
With the numerical advantage, South Korea took control of the game and looked for chances. In the 42nd minute, Kim Yong-hak fired a powerful shot from the right corner of the penalty box that was saved by the goalkeeper.
With six minutes of extra time awarded after two VAR reviews, South Korea continued to press forward and Kim Yong-hak threatened again with a mid-range shot, but was unable to break through Honduras’ tight defense.
At the start of the second half, Kim made a change at left back. Bae Seo-joon came off and Choi Ye-hoon came on.
Korea pushed Honduras hard from the start of the second half. They constantly threatened the goal with shots on goal.
The good momentum didn’t last long. Five minutes into the second half, they conceded a goal on a single attack. Isaac Castillo played a two-on-one pass with a teammate and tried a right-footed curling shot that bounced once before finding the corner of the net.
With the game on the line, Kim made a change in the eighth minute of the second half, taking off Bae Jun-ho and Park Chang-woo and adding Park Seung-ho and Cho Young-kwang. It was a change that strengthened the offense.
South Korea then knocked on the door with a high-tempo offense and eventually scored the winning goal. In the 12th minute of the second half, Kim Yong-hak scored with a left-footed shot from Lee Young-joon’s pass inside the penalty box.
With momentum on their side, South Korea equalized in the 17th minute of the second half when Park Seung-ho headed in a corner kick from the left by Lee Seung-won to rattle the net. Kim’s substitutions paid off. However, Park Seung-ho was replaced by Lee Seung-jun with an injury just four minutes after the goal 안전놀이터.
South Korea went on the offensive to get back into the game. In the 41st minute, Cho Young-kwang’s cross hit the crossbar instead of the goalkeeper’s hands.
In stoppage time, a quick counterattack created a chance. Kim Yong-hak quickly penetrated into the box and passed the ball to Kang Sung-jin, who tried to shoot, but the goalkeeper made the save.
In the final minutes of the game, defender Choi Seok-hyun was sent off for accumulating cautions, and the game ended in a tie.