Korea U17 did not play badly in the early stages of the final match against Japan. Despite Japan U17 being rated higher, Korea still showed confidence and determination when competing on par with their opponents.
However, Ko Jong-hyun's red card in the 44th minute proved to be a turning point. The South Korean defender's illegal tackle outside the penalty area earned him a second yellow card and also helped Japan U17 score from a set piece.
Japan U17 set a record by winning the Asian championship for the fourth time. Photo: AFC.
Gaku Nawata made the above set piece situation come true with a perfectly curved free kick, helping Japan U17 open the score. The lead and the advantage of playing with one more player helped the young team from the land of the rising sun dominate the match. In the 66th minute, Gaku Nawata completed his double in the match and helped the home team gain a huge advantage.
Another turning point of the match came at the end of the match. In the 84th minute, the Japanese goalkeeper fouled the Korean striker in the penalty area, but the referee did not call a penalty. Slow motion footage from television later showed that goalkeeper Wataru Goto clearly fouled his opponent. However, the Thai referee did not call a penalty. In the stands, Korean fans were angry. They thought their favorite team was being treated unfairly throughout the match.
The remaining efforts could not help Korea score a consolation goal. Moreover, Japan U17 also scored a 3-0 victory thanks to an excellent performance by Yutaka Michiwaki. With an easy victory in the final, Japan U17 successfully defended the Asian championship title.
This is also the fourth time the Japanese U17 team has won the Asian Championship after 1994, 2006 and 2018, a record for the tournament. The young "Samurai Blue" players showed convincing performance when crushing their opponents from the group stage to the knockout round. They scored 22 goals in 6 matches and only conceded 6 goals. Meanwhile, the Korean U17 team could not win the championship for the third time after 1986 and 2002.
(Source: Zing News)
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