In the group stage, U23 Vietnam ranked 2nd in Group C, after defeating U23 Philippines, drawing with U23 Kuwait and losing to U23 Uzbekistan. Meanwhile, U23 Korea ranked first in Group D thanks to two victories against U23 Qatar and U23 Saudi Arabia.
Being at the top of the group is considered an initial success for South Korea U23 on the path to conquering the gold medal. According to Sports Seoul, meeting Vietnam U23 in the quarterfinals and possibly meeting China U23 in the semi-finals is much easier, because if they are second in Group D, the Korean team will face Uzbekistan U23 in the quarterfinals and possibly meet host Japan U23 in the semi-finals.
With the achievement of 3 consecutive gold medals in men's football at ASIAD 17, 18 and 19, U23 Korea is considered the strongest candidate in this year's tournament. Coach Lee Min-sung has also called up the strongest squad, regardless of the military service status of the players.
U23 Korea called up 9 players playing abroad, including 2 people over 23 years old to participate in ASIAD 20. Some of their key players, typically striker Lee Young-jun (Grasshopper), gathered very late, when the home team was about to enter the tense knockout round.
Before leaving for ASIAD, coach Lee Min-sung pledged not to repeat the mistake at the 2026 AFC U23 Championship. In this tournament, U23 Korea lost to U23 Vietnam in the third-place match after a penalty shootout with a score of 6-7, despite playing with more than 30 minutes of extra time.
This is a bitter defeat for Lee Min-sung's team. After the defeat to U23 Vietnam, this strategist admitted that the players made too many mistakes and did not play calmly.
So when meeting U23 Vietnam again in the quarter-finals of ASIAD 20, this strategist is very cautious. He shared: "Based on my experience at the Asian Games, fitness is the most important factor. This is an important stage of the tournament. We must choose a stable approach. Although you may want to have an impressive performance, from now on, we must play with the goal of result first. We will thoroughly analyze the situation of U23 Vietnam and prepare carefully".
The U23 Vietnam vs U23 Korea match is scheduled to take place at 5:30 PM on September 25.
