Lee Young-jun celebrates after scoring the opening goal in South Korea's 4-0 quarterfinal victory over Vietnam at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men's football tournament at Mizuho Park Rugby Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on Friday. [Yonhap]
Lee Young-jun celebrates after scoring the opening goal in South Korea's 4-0 quarterfinal victory over Vietnam at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men's football tournament at Mizuho Park Rugby Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on Friday. [Yonhap]

South Korea moved one step closer to a fourth consecutive Asian Games gold medal in men's football on Friday, with late call-up Lee Young-jun of Grasshopper delivering a brace to lead the charge.

The under-23 national team, coached by Lee Min-sung, defeated Vietnam 4-0 in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Mizuho Park Rugby Stadium in Nagoya, Japan. South Korea will face the winner of Saturday's China-Thailand match for a place in the final.

The team is chasing a fourth straight title, having won gold at the 2014 Incheon, 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and 2022 Hangzhou Games.

Lee Young-jun leads the line; Eom Ji-sung, Yang Hyun-jun start on bench

Coach Lee made changes to his starting lineup, opting for Lee Young-jun up front instead of Kim Myung-jun, who had scored in two consecutive group-stage matches. Lee Young-jun had only arrived in Nagoya on Monday due to club commitments and was forced to watch the Saudi Arabia match from the sidelines — Friday marked his first appearance at the tournament.

Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City), Lee Hyun-ju (Arouca), Kang Sang-yun (North Jeolla Province) and Yang Min-hyeok (Westerlo) lined up in the second line, while captain Lee Ki-hyeok started as a defensive midfielder. The back four consisted of Bae Hyeon-seo (South Gyeongsang Province), Shin Min-ha, Kim Ji-su (Brentford) and Choi Seok-hyeon (Ulsan), with Kim Jun-hong (Suwon) in goal. Wildcards Eom Ji-sung and Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic) were named among the substitutes. Vietnam set up in a 3-4-3 formation.

Korea breathe easy after opener, but nerves fray as post and offside intervene

The atmosphere inside the stadium was in effect a home crowd for Vietnam, with the stands packed by their supporters. South Korea dominated possession from the start but struggled to break through Vietnam's compact defensive block, with crosses repeatedly cut out.

The deadlock was broken in the 15th minute. Lee Hyun-ju swung in a left-footed cross from the flank, and Lee Young-jun rose to head it home.

The game grew nervy after that. In the 21st minute, goalkeeper Kim Jun-hong misplaced a pass under pressure, allowing Vietnam to intercept and shoot. Then in the 35th minute, a turnover from Lee Young-jun triggered a counterattack — Nguyen Quang Bin's long-range effort struck the post, and Le Van Tuan tucked in the rebound, only to be flagged offside. Emboldened, Vietnam increased their possession and pressed higher, and South Korea went into halftime clinging to an uneasy 1-0 lead.

Korea struggle in second half before second goal opens floodgates in final minutes

Coach Lee brought on Eom Ji-sung for Yang Min-hyeok at the start of the second half, but the momentum did not shift easily. Vietnam pressed aggressively from the front and threatened repeatedly on the counter. In the 52nd minute, Lee Hyun-ju was booked for a foul to stop a counterattack, and Lee responded around the 55th minute by replacing him with Lee Seung-won to reinforce the midfield.

South Korea squandered several clear chances. In the 66th minute, Bae Jun-ho found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper after latching onto a through ball from Lee Young-jun, but was denied by a fine save. Around the 75th minute, Lee Young-jun shook off a defender and struck with his left foot, only to be kept out again.

The second goal came from a set piece in the 77th minute. From a corner, Lee Young-jun flicked the ball on with his head and Shin Min-ha turned to shoot — the ball deflected off a defender and Kim Ji-su calmly tapped it in.

Coach Lee immediately brought on Kim Myung-jun for Bae Jun-ho, and the substitution paid off at once. In the 81st minute, Kim Myung-jun received a through ball from Lee Young-jun and shot, only to be denied by the goalkeeper. Kim retrieved the loose ball and laid it back for Lee Young-jun, who drove it in with a powerful left foot to complete his brace.

With the result secured, Lee swapped out Lee Young-jun and Kim Ji-su for Kang Min-jun (Pohang) and Park Sung-hoon (Seoul). In the 88th minute, Bae Hyeon-seo broke down the flank and found Eom Ji-sung, whose low pass was finished off by Kim Myung-jun to seal the win. It was Kim Myung-jun's third goal in as many matches, stretching his scoring run back to the group stage.

A big scoreline, but plenty to work on

The 4-0 scoreline flattered South Korea somewhat. From midway through the first half until around the 75th minute, Vietnam held the upper hand, and the outcome could have been very different had it not been for the post and the offside flag. That South Korea labored against a Vietnam side missing head coach Kim Sang-sik, who was away on duty with the senior national team, and several key players called up to the full squad, left plenty for Lee Min-sung's side to address ahead of the semifinals.


why37@heraldcorp.com