In the second match of Group D of the 2025 U20 Asian Cup taking place on the afternoon of February 17, U20 Thailand faced U20 Korea. In the opening match, the War Elephants' youth team lost heavily to U20 Japan with a score of 0-3.
Against a very strong opponent, U20 Thailand was under great pressure from the beginning of the match. Yoon Do-young hit the crossbar in the second minute and Thai goalkeeper Anut Samran almost returned to the net in the 6th minute.
But surprisingly, the War Elephants were the team that opened the scoring in the 23rd minute. Receiving a pass through the line from Pongsakorn Sangkasopha after a quick counter-attack, Yotsakon Burapha's dangerous shot left Park Sang-young dead.
Less than 10 minutes later, Yoon Do-young equalized for U20 Korea after Lee Chang-woo's corner kick. At the beginning of the second half, the pink team took the lead after Kim Tae-won headed the ball.
The pressure from South Korea increased towards the end of the match. In the 86th minute, Tae-won had another difficult header to defeat goalkeeper Anut.
In the 90th minute, Park Seung-Soo sealed a 4-1 victory for U20 Korea from an assist from Kim Seo-jin. This victory helped them officially qualify for the quarterfinals and will meet U20 Japan in the final round to compete for the top spot.
U20 Japan has not yet secured a chance to continue after drawing with Syria in the match at the same time. They need at least 1 point against U20 Korea to enter the next round.
For their part, U20 Thailand was officially eliminated after 2 losses. They will meet Syria U20 in the final match, with procedures on February 20.
