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Challenge to Paris

Hwang Seon-hong, who is seeking to advance to the Olympic finals for the 10th consecutive time, drank a bitter cup in the final mock test.

The Olympic soccer team, led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong, lost 0-1 to Saudi Arabia in a closed exhibition match in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the 10th.

This was confirmed by the announcement of the results by the Saudi Arabian Football Association. The association only said it would hold a friendly match in the UAE, but did not disclose the opponent team, the roster or the result.

The Korean national team is now maintaining the tension before Hwang Sun-hong starts a showdown. The team had a different result in its rematch with Saudi Arabia in just one month, heralding a formidable qualifying match. The Olympic team met Saudi Arabia at the U-23 Championship of the Western Asian Football Confederation (WAFF) last month and won the match with Um Ji-sung's finishing goal. However, due to the opposite result, the team needed full preparation in this match.

Hwang Sun-hong, who aims to advance to the finals of the upcoming Paris Olympics in July, will participate in the 2024 Asian Football Confederation U-23 Qatar Asian Cup from July 17. The top three countries will advance to the finals as well as Olympic qualifiers. The fourth place finisher should have a tough playoff with Guinea, which finished fourth in the CAF qualifying round.

The matches are not easy. Korea, which belongs to Group B, will face UAE (16th), China (19th) and Japan (22nd) in that order. Its archrival, Japan, has been operating the national team by age as an "Olympic all-in" system. Unlike Korea, which convened elite members such as Lee Kang-in and Jung Woo-young at the Asian Games, the Korean national team had a minor league team including some university players, while the Olympic team elevated its weight class by sparring with strong teams through away matches in Europe.

Moreover, UAE, a strong team in Western Asia, has had difficulties for Korea whenever they faced off, be it age-group or adult-group. Analysts say that the team is not certain whether it will pass the group stage or not.

Nevertheless, Korea must overcome difficulties to advance to the finals for the 10th consecutive Olympics. In addition, Korea needs to win the title in order to make the group a little easier to form at the finals. Group A will include France, the host country, and the winners of the U.S., New Zealand and the Asia-Africa Playoff.

Group B is not easy, either. Argentina, which is a strong contender for the title at this age group, as well as Morocco, Ukraine and the third-ranked team from Asia will be included. Group C also includes the top-seeded teams from Egypt, the Dominican Republic, and Asia. The top-ranked teams from Paraguay, Mali, Israel and Asia are included in the last Group D. Group D weighs relatively light.

If Korea passes the U-23 Asian Cup, it will be in Group C or Group D. However, apart from the final ranking at the U-23 Asian Cup, the top and second-ranked teams in Asia will be determined based on their performances at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Japan performed the best at the last Olympics by ranking fourth, while Korea was eliminated from the quarterfinals. Australia and Saudi Arabia failed to pass the group stage.


Hwang left for Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, on Saturday and began to adapt himself there. Before leaving the country, Hwang said, "First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the K-League coaches and officials for approving the transfer of players from the team amid difficulties. Now, we are going to the final. It will be a very difficult competition as well."

"However, I will do my best to win 10 consecutive Olympics tickets and come back. Please give me a lot of encouragement and support," he said.

However, the team is having a hard time building its best capacity ahead of the qualifying round. It is not easy to send Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic) to a foreign team that he had put his heart and soul into. Right before departure, Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic) failed to join the team due to opposition to the team's call-up, while Kim Ji-soo (Brentford) was also informed of his ban on the team's call-up. Jung Sang-bin (Minnesota), the main catcher, will join the team only one day before the first match against the UAE, making it difficult to operate the team from the first match.

Above all, it is still unclear whether the ace pitcher Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City) will join the team. As Stoke is fiercely competing to remain in the English Championship (second division league), it is unlikely that he will let Bae, dubbed the "King of Stoke," go easy. If Bae fails to join, tactical adjustments may be needed in a short period of time.

Coach Hwang Sun-hong, who arrived in Doha after completing all preparations, said, "Of course, I think we need to win the championship. While training for several days, I saw with my eyes what our players thought about their goal. It is important to keep this commitment and do our best until the end." 토토사이트 순위

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