Korea Faces Australia Tonight in Semifinals... Win Secures 9th Consecutive Olympic Finals Appearance

On the afternoon of the 21st (local time), the South Korea U-23 national football team players are training at the Alpine Football Camp in Bangkok, Thailand. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Sung-yeol] The South Korea U-23 soccer team, led by coach Kim Hak-bum, will face Australia in the semifinals on the 22nd. If they win here, Korea will secure qualification for the Olympic finals.

The South Korea U-23 soccer team will compete against Australia at 10:15 PM at Thammasat Stadium in Rangsit, Thailand, for a spot in the final of the 2020 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship.

Since Japan, the host country of the '2020 Tokyo Olympics,' was eliminated in the group stage, teams must finish in the top three to secure a ticket to the Olympic finals.

Even if Korea loses to Australia, winning the third-place match will earn them a ticket to Tokyo.

Coach Kim said that stamina will decide the outcome against Australia and stated, "As with every match, we will approach this with the mindset that it is the last."

He added about Australia, "They are a good team with an excellent coach and players," and said, "I think we know each other well through the two previous matches."

The opponent Australia had one more day of rest than Korea but used a lot of stamina by winning 1-0 against Syria after extra time in the quarterfinals.

Arnold, the coach of the Australian national soccer team, said in an interview with the AFC on the 21st, "Korea has depth in their squad. The team composition has also changed very meticulously."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.