Byun Sung-hwan, head coach of the South Korea national football team, waves during the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2023 group stage match between South Korea and France at the Jakarta International Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Nov. 15.
Byun Sung-hwan, the head coach of the Korea U17 national team, said, “We’re not getting lucky in this World Cup. I hope we will be lucky in the final match.”
The South Korean U17 soccer team, led by Byun Sung-hwan, lost 0-1 to France in their second Group E match at the FIFA U17 World Cup Indonesia 2023 on Friday (June 15).
It was the second straight defeat for the Koreans, who lost 1-3 to the United States in the first round of play and are now out of contention to finish second in the group. South Korea will need to score as many goals as possible in their final group game against Burkina Faso on June 18 at 9 p.m. to win the game and advance to the Round of 16 as the third-place wild card.
It’s a disappointing result for South Korea. Both of their last two matches have been good in content, but without a point.
There was also bad luck. After hitting the post twice in the first game against the U.S., Byun’s shot in the decisive equalizer against France hit the post and bounced away.
After praising his players, Byun said, “I think it’s great that we didn’t give up against a strong team and tried to maintain our style until the end,” but added, “I’m upset that we’re so unlucky in this World Cup. We’ve hit the post three times in two games, and I hope we’ll be lucky against Burkina Faso.”
After playing two games in Jakarta, South Korea traveled to Bandung, where they will be camped for the final match against Burkina Faso.
“After the France game, the opposing coach said, ‘Korea is a really good team. You can definitely make it to the round of 16,'” he encouraged. I thought the same thing. There’s really no looking back now. I will fulfill my responsibility as a coach and play a winning game against Burkina Faso.”
Meanwhile, the U17 World Cup is divided into six groups of four teams, with the top four best performing teams from the 12 teams finishing first and second in each group and the top six teams finishing third in each group advancing to the round of 16.
South Korea currently sits third in Group E and last in the race for third place in each group. 슬롯사이트