Korea Republic U-17 men’s national team have won the four-nation tournament in Croatia, after claiming two straight wins over Croatia and Türkiye.

Byun Sunghwan’s charges finished first in the friendly tournament that took place in Porec, Croatia from 8 to 14 February, with a record of two wins and a defeat.

The young Taegeuk Warriors got off to a sluggish start against hosts Croatia in the opening match on Wednesday, before coming back from one goal down to claim a 2-1 victory through goals from Yun Doyoung and Kim Seongju. They went on to beat Türkiye 3-1 three days later with a brace from Kang Juhyeok and a penalty converted by Yun Doyoung. However, they conceded two goals during the first half against Denmark in the final game, before Kang Juhyeok pulled one back after the restart to make it 2-1.

Korea Republic took pole position with two wins, level on six points with Türkiye, but they ultimately finished first by virtue of better result against one another according to the tournament regulations. Türkiye finished runners-up with six points from two wins and a defeat, followed by Denmark on four points and Croatia a point.

The U-17 national team have been preparing for the finals of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup that takes place in Thailand in June. Four teams from Asia will qualify from the continental finals to participate in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru in November.

Four-nation friendly tournament in Croatia

Match 3 (14 February)

Korea Republic 1-2 Denmark

Scorers: Kang Juhyeok(51’, Korea); Nikolaj Juul( 5’, Denmark), Anders Noshe( 40’, Denmark)

KOR: Yun Kiwook, Seo Jeonghyeok, Kwak Sunghun (Kang Minwoo 42’), Yoo Minjun (Ko Jonghyun 42’), Yeom Dohyeon (Lee Changwoo 42’), Cha Jehoon (Lim Hyunsub 42’), Kim Hyunmin (Kang Juhyeok 42’, Lee Jouhoung 87’), Kim Seongju (Baek Inwoo 42’), Jin Taeho (Yun Doyoung 42’), Choe Gangmin (Yang Minhyuk 42’), Kim Myungjun (Lee Sangmin 75’)

Match 2 (11 February)

Korea Republic 3-1 Türkiye

Scorers: Kang Juhyeok(35’, 45’, Korea), Yun Doyoung (61’, pen.  Korea); Kebir Ali Canpolat (54’, Turkiye)

KOR: Yun Kiwook, Seo Jeonghyeok, Ko Jonghyun, Kang Minwoo, Lee Changwoo, Lim Hyunsub, Kang Juhyeok (Kim Hyunmin 58’), Yun Doyoung (Lee Sangmin 78’), Baek Inwoo, Yang Minhyuk (Choe Gangmin 77’), Kim Myungjun (Yoo Byeongheon 77’)

Match 1 (8 February)

Korea Republic 2-1 Croatia

Scorers: Mate Ivcovic( 32’, Croatia); Yun Doyoung(63’, Korea), Kim Seongju( 81’, Korea)

KOR: Yun Kiwook, Seo Jeonghyeok, Ko Jonghyun, Kang Minwoo, Lee Changwoo, Lim Hyunsub, Kang Juhyeok (Kim Seongju 25’), Yun Doyoung (Lee Sangmin 90’), Baek Inwoo (Kim Hyunmin 25’), Yang Minhyuk (Yoo Byeongheon 25’), Kim Myungjun (Choe Gangmin 25’)