After Korea’s goalless draw against group winners Australia, Korea will meet Group C winners Japan at the quarter-finals of the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship in China.
Despite the strong start of the tournament by Lee Kwang-jong’s men, they failed to defeat Australia at the Zibo Sports Stadium on Oct 8th. Korea and Australia both advanced out of Group D with 2 wins and no losses but Korea’s goal difference of +3 fell behind Australia’s +6.
In the last U-19 Championship, Korea knocked Japan out in the quarter-finals, essentially denying them a place in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt where Hong Myung-bo’s team impressively reached the quarter-finals. The two teams will meet again this year in the quarter-finals. However, Japan is in hot form coming from three straight wins and have yet to concede a goal in the tournament whereas Korea has struggled to score in their last two matches.
The teams will face off on Oct 11th at the Linzi Stadium for a place in the semi-finals. The winner of the match will secure their place at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia.
Results
Korea Republic 2 – 0 Iran
* 39′ Ji Dong-won
* 54′ Jung Seung-yong
Korea Republic 1 – 0 Yemen
* 15′ Ji Dong-won
Korea Republic 0 – 0 Australia
