The referee’s decision was a tough one… but Kim Eun-Joong-ho overcame it.

Kim Eun-Joong refused to be deterred by the referee’s disappointing call.

The South Korea U-20 football team, led by head coach Kim Eun-Joong, defeated Nigeria 1-0 in extra time in the quarterfinals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Argentina 2023 at the Unico Mar de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero, Argentina on Friday at 2:30 a.m. ET. With the win, South Korea advances to the quarterfinals of the tournament.

South Korea used a 4-2-3-1 formation. Lee Young-joon, Kang Sung-jin, Lee Seung-won, Kim Yong-hak, Kang Sang-yoon, Lee Chan-wook, Bae Seo-joon, Kim Ji-su, Choi Seok-hyun, and Park Chang-woo started. Kim Jun-hong wore the goalkeeping gloves.

The match was not easy. Nigeria used their physicality to their advantage in one-on-one situations. South Korea had a few chances to attack, but struggled in contested situations with Nigerian players. However, instead of actively pressing, Nigeria dropped their defensive line and waited for Korea to come in, which made it even harder for Korea to develop their offense.

The second half was no different. South Korea got the ball in the box in the 15th minute of the second half when Lee Young-joon turned toward the goal and fired a left-footed shot that went over the bar. With the game not going well, Kim Eun-joong made a substitution. At the start of the second half, Kang Sung-jin and Bae Jun-ho were replaced by Lee Chan-wook and Park Hyun-bin. Afterward, Kim Ji-soo and Bae Seo-joon were replaced by Choi Ye-hoon and Hwang In-taek, exhausting his substitutes.

There was one thing that made the frustrating game even more frustrating. The referee’s decision was a bit of a surprise. On this day, the referee did not call fouls easily when Korean players fell. When Bae Jun-ho was pushed down by an opponent in the box, no penalty kick was awarded and there was no VAR check. It was frustrating for South Korea.토토사이트

This type of officiating continued into overtime. Bae Jun-ho was punched in the face during a contest with an opponent, but the referee awarded Nigeria a free kick. During the contest for the aerial ball, a Nigerian player grabbed Lee Young-joon’s shoulder and jumped up, but there was no foul called here either.

However, Kim Eun-Joong-ho was able to make it to the quarterfinals despite the call. In the fifth minute of overtime, a corner kick from Lee Seung-won rattled the net as Choi Seok-hyun headed home. Nigeria’s counterattack was fierce, but the Koreans remained calm, blocked their opponents’ attacks, maintained possession, and worked hard to keep their players fit. In the end, it was South Korea who held on to the lead.