Hwang Sun-hong’s men’s soccer round of 16 opponent at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games has been confirmed as Kyrgyzstan. The much-anticipated North-South clash in the round of 16 will not happen until the final. In the quarterfinals, hosts China are the favorites.
The U-24 Asian Games soccer team, led by Hwang Sun-hong, booked their place in the round of 16 with back-to-back 9-0 wins over Kuwait and 4-0 victories over Thailand to top Group E early on. Even if they lose their final group game against Bahrain on Thursday at 8:30 p.m., they will still advance to the Round of 16.
Under the preliminary draw, the top-ranked team in Group E, South Korea, was scheduled to face the second-ranked team in Group F in the round of 16. Group F was unranked until the final group stage, and attention was focused on the possibility of a North-South Korean war, especially with the possibility of North Korea finishing second and advancing to the round of 16.
However, North Korea defeated Indonesia 1-0 in their final group game to advance to the round of 16 as the group leader with a three-game winning streak. At the same time, Kyrgyzstan moved into second place with a 4-1 win over Chinese Taipei. Indonesia dropped to third, but secured a spot in the round of 16, which is awarded to the top four best-performing teams in each group.
South Korea will now face Kyrgyzstan, who finished second in Group F, for a spot in the quarterfinals at 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 27 at China’s Jinhua Stadium. Interestingly, North Korea was drawn in the opposite bracket. The only way for the two Koreas to meet is if both make it to the final.
The all-time series against Kyrgyzstan’s U-23 team is 2-0 in favor of South Korea. In both meetings, South Korea won 1-0. In the final group stage match of the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang tournament, the Koreans won 1-0 on a goal from wildcard Son Heung-min. South Korea also won 1-0 in an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup qualifier in Changwon on Sept. 9, but that was the U-22 team preparing for next year’s Paris Olympics, not the Asian Games.바카라
If they beat Kyrgyzstan and advance to the quarterfinals, South Korea will likely face hosts China. China qualified for the round of 16 by finishing first in Group A and will face the third-place finisher from either Group B or Group D in the round of 16. The quarterfinals will be held on March 1 in Hangzhou, China.