Seon-Hong Hwang loses to Saudi Arabia in closed evaluation

Under-23 national team in training. Courtesy of the Korea Football Association

Coach Hwang Sun-hong of the U-23 national football team, who is participating in the U-23 Asian Cup, is having an interview with reporters before departing Incheon International Airport on Saturday.

Hwang Sun-hong, who is seeking to advance to the Olympic finals for the 10th consecutive time, lost the final warm-up match.

The Saudi Arabian Football Association said on its official social networking service SNS on Thursday that it won 1-0 in an exhibition match against the South Korean U-23 national team led by Hwang Sun-hong. The Saudi Arabian Football Association said Jihad Zakri scored the finisher in the 27th minute of the second half.

The Korea Football Association did not disclose the opponent or result other than the fact that it will hold an exhibition match in UAE on Wednesday local time. The Saudi Arabian Football Association revealed related news.

The national team, which won 1-0 against Saudi Arabia during the semifinals of the Western Asian Football Confederation WAFF U-23 Championship in Saudi Arabia last month, lost the match.

The match was the final mock test against the "2024 Asian Football Confederation AFC U-23 Asian Cup."

Hwang Seon-hong left for the UAE on May 5 for an off-season training. He finished the training after the match against Saudi Arabia. He will then enter Doha, Qatar, where the Korean team will play in the final on May 10.

The Korean national team, which was assigned to Group B with Japan, China, and the UAE at the U-23 Asian Cup, will play its first group match against the UAE at the Khalifa Stadium in Abdullah bin at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday. Only top three players can qualify for the Paris Olympics, which kicks off in July. If they are ranked fourth, they will have to play against Guinea, the fourth-ranked team in the CAF qualifying round, to advance to the finals.

The biggest match in the group league will likely be the match between Korea and Japan. Hwang beat Japan to win the gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year. Japan is seeking revenge. 배트맨토토

In an interview released by DAZN Japan on the same day, Oiwa, the Japanese coach, said, "This side against Korea is a game that doesn't have to be overly motivated," but added, "There are players who are characteristic of the offense and the center back's physicality should also be vigilant."

This seems to be a remark conscious of tall defenders such as Byun Jun-su 190cm, Gwangju and Seo Myeong-gwan 186cm, Bucheon.