The late Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain), and Sergio Aguero (retired) have something in common other than being Argentina’s national soccer stars.
Lee Kang-in (Mallorca), the next-generation star of Korean soccer, shares this.
These are the main characters of the ‘Golden Ball’, which is the best player award in the FIFA World Cup under 20 years old (U-20).
The FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is just three days away from the opening, is literally a ‘contest for prospective stars’.
In addition to these, ‘special stars’ such as Brazilian striker Adriano (1993 Golden Ball), Javier Saviola (Argentina, 2001 Golden Ball), Djibril Cisse (France, 2001 Bronze Ball), and John Obi Mikel (Nigeria, 2005 Silver Ball) ‘ made their name known through the U-20 World Cup.
Recently, Paul Pogba (France, Juventus) won the Golden Ball in the 2013 tournament and was selected as the best football boy in the world.
In the 2019 tournament, Lee Kang-in, who led Korea to the runner-up, the highest score in FIFA-sponsored competitions, was spotlighted and raised his ‘weight class’ as a player.
At the time, Lee Kang-in, who recorded 2 goals and 4 assists and won the Golden Ball at the age of 18 after 14 years since Messi, solidified his status as a world-class prospect beyond Korea through this tournament.
The 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, dubbed the ‘gate to stardom’, kicks off with a splendid match between Group A Guatemala and New Zealand and Group B USA and Ecuador in Santiago del Estero and San Juan, Argentina at 3:00 am on the 21st in Korea time.
This year’s U-20 World Cup, which marks its 23rd in total, opens on this day and continues for 23 days until the final held in La Plata on the 12th of next month.
The most successful team in history is Argentina, which has reached the top six times (1979, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2007). Next, Brazil won the title five times in total (1983, 1985, 1993, 2003, 2011).
Since 2013, the European team has monopolized the throne. France in 2013, Serbia in 2015, and England in 2017 stood at the top, and in 2019, Ukraine, which defeated Korea 3-1 in the final, lifted the championship trophy.
While the tournament was not held as scheduled in 2021 amid the pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19), the Korean national team is determined to continue the promotion of the 2019 tournament just before.
Kim Eun-joong, who had ‘Again 2019’ in her heart, was tied in Group F with France, Honduras and Gambia.
The evaluation of this group, which is tied with France, avoiding both the host country, Argentina and neighboring strong Uruguay, is ‘at least passable’.
France is a strong team that won the tournament in 2013 and has a huge lead against Korea with 4 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss.
Kim Eun-joong will play the first round of Group F against France at 3 a.m. on the 23rd in Korea time. The 2nd game against Honduras at 6 am on the 26th, and the 3rd game against Gambia at 6 am on the 29th. All three group stage matches will be held at Mendoza Stadium in Mendoza.
Especially in this tournament, the ‘K-League’ is expected to struggle.
Of the 21 players in the national team, 17, or about 81%, belong to the K-League, more than the 2019 Polish tournament (15).
Seongnam FC defender Kim Ji-soo, who received an offer from English Premier League (EPL) Brentford, and FC Seoul winger Kang Seong-jin, who participated in 34 league games last season and was nominated for the Young Player Award, will make their names known to the world through this tournament. They are considered K-League players.
Eunjoong Kim’s immediate task is ‘local adaptation’.
About a month before the opening, the venue was suddenly changed from Indonesia to Argentina on the other side of the globe due to ‘political reasons’.
As the voices of Indonesian Muslims opposed the entry of Israel, which had passed the European qualifiers, grew louder, FIFA chose Argentina as the new venue after depriving the hosting rights.
As a result,카지노사이트 Kim Eun-joong, who had prepared for Indonesia’s climate and time difference, faced an absurd situation in which he had to completely revise his training plan.
Kim Eun-joong, who left for Brazil on the 7th, is continuing to adapt to the local area and prepare for the competition, burning his will to fight despite difficulties, winning both practice matches with the club team twice.
