Korea Republic men’s U-22 national team have reached the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup finals by winning their preliminary group and gone a step closer to the Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024 in the process.

Hwang Sunhong’s charges defeated Myanmar 3-0 in their third game of Group B staged at Changwon Football Centre on Tuesday, with goals from Paik Sanghoon, Jun Byungkwan and Oh Jaehyeok securing passage to the continental finals.

The result put Korea Republic on top of their group with two wins from as many matches, which was enough to see them qualify for the Asian Cup finals hosted by Qatar in April next year. In the continental finals, which also act as the qualifying for Paris 2024, top three teams automatically qualify for the Olympics with the fourth-placed team to play off against their counterparts from the African qualifiers.
 

Korea Republic had made a worst possible start by losing 2-0 against Qatar in their group opener on 6 September, before bouncing back with a 1-0 win over Kyrgyz Republic with Hong Yoonsang scoring the winner. They went on to top the group with a comprehensive victory over Myanmar in the final group game.

The first match against Qatar was regarded as a friendly and did not count in the group standings, as the Qataris have already qualified for the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup as host country.

Coach Hwang Sunhong said: “Looking back, we could not create enough chances and lacked the finishing touch to convert them as well. As a matter of fact, the most difficult part is to improve the ability to convert the chances, which we should do in the finals where we will face stronger opponents.”

Jeong Sangbin, who made two assists in this competition, has put behind him the disappointment of the early exit following the defeat against Japan in the quarter-finals last year. “It was a bitter pill to swallow to be honest,” he said. “But we’re one of the strongest teams in Asia, and we must reach the final at least this time. We need to be one team in order to reach that goal, and put the team first rather than individuals.”