Kim Eun-joong’s South Korea Under-20 National Team (U-20) soccer team has a smile on its face, thanks to Japan, who fell to third place in Group C with an upset loss. It was the third consecutive FIFA U-20 World Cup round of 16 appearance for Korea.
Kim secured his place in the round of 16 with a day to go before Japan’s third Group F match against Gambia at the Mendoza Stadium in Mendoza, Argentina, on Monday (June 29). The U-20 World Cup qualifies the top 12 nations from each of the six groups, plus the top four finishers from each group, for the round of 16, and Kim will be among the top four finishers in his group regardless of the outcome against the Gambia.
Japan’s shocking loss was a big factor. Japan came from behind to lose 1-2 in its third Group C match against Israel at the Mendoza Stadium in Mendoza, Argentina, on Aug. 28. The loss dropped them to third place with three points (1-2-1). This means that even if South Korea loses to the Gambia, they will still qualify for the round of 16 as they are among the top four teams in the group.먹튀검증
In fact, only New Zealand (4 points) and Nigeria (6 points) in Group A and Nigeria (6 points) in Group D are ahead of Kim in the standings after three rounds of group play. Slovakia in Group B and Japan in Group C are both on three points, so Kim will enter the Gambia match with at least a share of the top four spots in Group 3.
