Kim Eun-Joong’s South Korea Under-20 football team (U-20) had a smile on their faces after a shock defeat to Japan saw them slip to third place in Group C. It is the third consecutive FIFA U-20 World Cup round of 16 appearance for Korea.
Kim secured his place in the last 16 with a day to spare before Japan’s third Group F match against Gambia at the Mendoza Stadium in Mendoza, Argentina, on 29 June. The round of 16 at the U-20 World Cup is decided by the top 12 nations in each of the six groups, plus the top four finishers in each group, and Kim will be among the top three regardless of the result against the Gambia.스포츠토토
Japan’s shock defeat was a big factor. Japan came from behind to lose 1-2 in their third Group C match against Israel at the Mendoza Stadium in Mendoza, Argentina, on 28 August. The loss dropped them to third place with three points (1-2-1). This means that even if South Korea lose to the Gambia, they will still qualify for the round of 16 as they are among the top four teams in the group.
In fact, only New Zealand (4 points) and Nigeria (6 points) in Group A and Nigeria (6 points) in Group D are ahead of Kim in the standings after three rounds of group play. Slovakia in Group B and Japan in Group C are both on three points, meaning that Kim will go into the Gambia match with at least a share of the top four spots in Group 3.