Pathum Thani: Perennial rivals Korea Republic and Japan will put their best foot forward when they square off in the AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Thailand 2023 final at the Pathum Thani Stadium on Sunday.The two teams have scored a staggering 34 goals between them with Korea Republic vying to end a 21-year wait to be champions at this age group level, while Japan are aiming to add the title to their record three AFC U-16 Championship crowns.
MATCH PREVIEW
| Korea Republic | – | Japan |
AFC U17 Asian CupKOSunday 2 July 2023 13:00VenueBG Stadium
- Korea Republic1-0UzbekistanAFC U17 Asian CupKOThursday 29 June 2023 15:00VenueBG Stadium
- In-Woo Back
- Ji-Sung Hwang
- Jeong-Hyeok Seo
- Chang-Woo Lee
- Soo-Ro Lee
- Do-Yong Yoon
- Seong-Ju Kim
- Min-Hyeok Yang
- Hyun-Min Kim
- Tae-Ho Jin
- Hyun-Sub Lim
- Je-Hoon Cha
- Mukhammedali Reimov
- Oybek Urmonjonov
- Dilshod Abdullayev
- Shodiyor Shodiboev
- Amirbek Saidov
- Behruz Shukurullaev
- Abdulhamid Turg’unboyev
- Mukhammad-Bobur Karimov
- Mamadalikhon Olimov
- Oybek Urmonjonov
- Aminbek Yokubov
- IR Iran0-3JapanAFC U17 Asian CupKOThursday 29 June 2023 11:00VenueThammasat Stadium
- Kasra Taheri
- Reza Ghandipour
- Mohammad Askari
- Abolfazl Zamani
- Abolfazl Zamani
- Zargham Saadavi
- Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia
- Samir Hoboobati
- Esmaeil Gholizadeh Samian
- Seyed Farjad Fayaz
- Mahan Sadeghi Digehsara
- Abolfazl Moredi
- Ryunosuke Yada
- Kohei Mochizuki
- Gakuto Kawamura
- Gaku Nawata
- Joi Yamamoto
- Yotaro Nakajima
- Ryunosuke Sato
- Ryunosuke Sato
- Ryunosuke Sato
- Kotaro Honda
- Yutaka Michiwaki
- Rento Takaoka
- Kohei Mochizuki
- Shungo Sugiura
- Korea Republic1-0UzbekistanAFC U17 Asian CupKOThursday 29 June 2023 15:00VenueBG Stadium
Byun Sung-hwan’s Korea Republic have impressed in the tournament, with their defeat to Islamic Republic of Iran being more the result of a heavily rotated starting lineup rather than because of a poor performance.
“I’m looking forward to the final against Japan. This is the scenario I had imagined as both teams performed really well and deserve to be here. I hope it will be a good game for both teams,” said head coach Byun.
“After the quarter-finals, we had some injured players and others who were not in good condition. However, they are fully recovered and ready for the final, which is a huge boost.
“I’m experiencing a mixture of happiness and anxiety as I have to choose the starting 11 for the final but that is a good thing, I’m truly looking forward to the match.”
Korea Republic will be up against a Japanese side who have outscored them by five goals but Byun is confident his players will rise to the challenge.
“It is hard to reveal our special strategy for tomorrow (Sunday) but our playing style has not changed since the start of the tournament.
“Since the start, our focus has been on our performance and I keep reminding the players and I’m hoping they will deliver.”
Japan’s only blemish was a 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan in their opening group stage match, with the team then recording four consecutive wins to march into the final.
“Finally, both our teams have reached the final. It’s an incredible achievement for both sides,” said head coach Yoshiro Moriyama, who also steered the Japan team to the AFC U-16 Championship title in 2018.
“Korea have maintained their position as one of the top teams in Asia for the last 20 years. We are ready and prepared to face them in the final.”
“The final is our sixth match of the tournament and the players are tired but this is the same situation with the Korean team. For tomorrow’s match, we will show everything the players have and they will put on a strong performance.
“Korea Republic are a difficult team to play against but if we can maintain our momentum, we will win the final.”
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