Pathum Thani: Back In-woo was Korea Republic’s hero as his goal secured them a 1-0 win over Uzbekistan in their AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Thailand 2023 semi-final on Thursday.The win means Korea Republic set up an enticing final against three-time AFC U-16 Championship winners Japan on Sunday.
Both teams signalled their intentions early on with the first attempt coming from Uzbekistan skipper Lazizbek Mirzaev in the sixth minute when his charge from just outside the box narrowly missed the target. An immediate counter attack came from Korea Republic’s Yang Min-hyeok who sped into the Uzbek 18-yard-box but his powerful right footer was deflected by Uzbek goalkeeper Muhammadyusuf Sobirov.
The midfielder made another try to penetrate the Uzbek defence but his run along the left flank in the 15th minute was met by too many white shirts. Uzbekistan survived a close shave soon after when Kim Myung-jun’s clever pass found Yoon Do-yong inside the box but the No 11’s attempt was punched clear by Sobirov.
Uzbekistan had their own attempts, most notably through efforts by Mukhammedali Reimov and Ollobergan Karimov but they were cleared away without much difficulty by Korea Republic. Just as the match crossed the half-hour mark, the young Taeguk Warriors found their first stroke of luck when they earned a free-kick right outside the penalty box and despite bailing Uzbekistan out of several precarious situations earlier, Sobirov could only watch as In-woo buried the ball deep into the bottom right corner.
Byun Sung-hwan’s charges started the second half with a determination to extend their lead and almost got their wish in the 50th minute but In-woo’s long range ball was punched away by Sobirov. Ten minutes later, Yoon Do-young sped from the centre-line and unleashed an impressive left footed shot only to be denied by the woodwork. In the 65th, minute Korean goalkeeper Hong Seong-min denied the young White Wolves an equaliser after he stood in the way of Mirzaev’s attempt from the centre of the box.
Seong-min found himself busy in the minutes that followed as the Central Asians continued to make repeated charges, particularly when substitute Amirbek Saidov took his chance from the right but could not send it to the back of the net thanks to the Pohang Steelers keeper. Myung-jun almost got his fifth goal of the tournament but his effort was shunned away by the Uzbekistan keeper but it didn’t matter in the end as Korea Republic advanced to the final.
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