Bae Seo-Joon “Good preparation for Italy…please support us a lot”
South Korea U-20 defender Bae Seo-joon (Daejeon), who reached the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023, has vowed to prepare well for the final against Italy.
“We didn’t expect to reach the quarter-finals, but I think we came this far by sticking together in every game and following the coach’s words,” Bae said in an interview released by the Korea Football Association on Friday.토토사이트
South Korea, coached by Kim Eun-joong, beat Nigeria 1-0 after extra time in their quarter-final match at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup at the Santiago del Estero Stadium in Argentina earlier in the day.
Bae Seo-Joon started the match and played until the 29th minute of the second half to help South Korea keep a clean sheet.
“The Nigerians had strength and speed, but we were able to stop them with our teammates and cooperative defence through power analysis,” he said, adding that he and fellow Daejeon Hana Citizen Bae Joon-ho “have been together since high school, so we have a good understanding of how to move according to the situation.”
Ahead of the semi-final against Italy on the 9th, he said, “I will analyse the opponent’s power and prepare well,” and asked the fans for their support.
Midfielder Park Hyun-bin (Incheon), who started the round of 16 match against Ecuador, said, “Our first goal was to reach the round of 16, but we are happy beyond words to reach the quarter-finals.” “If we play as a team, we will be able to do well against Italy in the quarter-finals and even the final,” he said.
“The first game against France was tough, and I was happy to win against Ecuador (after starting),” he said of his second half substitution against Nigeria.
Park, who cites Incheon teammate Lee Myung-joo as a “role model,” vowed to “do my best to fulfil my role and help the team go higher.
Moon Hyun-ho (Chungnam Asan) and Kim Jung-hoon (Korea University), who are backing up the main goalkeeper Kim Jun-hong (Gimcheon), also expressed their determination to contribute to the team.
“I don’t think I did a good job, but I’m grateful to those around me who said I did a good job,” said Moon Hyun-ho, who kept a clean sheet in the third group match against Gambia without Kim Jun-hong. “Despite my height (193 cm), I’m confident in my agility and quickness, and I have strengths in aerial balls. I will make up for the reputation of being weak underfoot and become a good player.”
“I’m sorry that I didn’t get to play, but I’m honoured to be part of the national team,” said Kim Jong-hoon. “I’m lacking a lot, but I’ll try harder and become a player who combines skill and personality and opens the way for goalkeepers to enter foreign countries.”