South Korea earned a convincing victory over Ukraine at the Seoul EOU Cup U-18 International Youth Tournament 2023.

South Korea defeated Ukraine 4-2 in the first match of the Seoul EOU Cup on Tuesday at Mokdong Sports Complex in Seoul. Before the match, Lee Jong-hwan, chairman of the Seoul City Council’s Committee on Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and Dmitry Ponomarenko, ambassador of Ukraine, were present for the ceremony. The ceremony also included a special ‘SAY NO WAR’ ceremony for global peace.

South Korea went into the match with an aggressive 4-2-3-1 formation against Ukraine. In the defense, Lee Ye-chan, a high school center back who recently transferred from Yeongdeungpo Gongo to Portimonense in Portugal, started.

South Korea opened the scoring against Ukraine in the 10th minute when Park Soo-bin headed home a quick cross from the left flank. Ukraine fought back to equalize in the 23rd minute when Maksim finished off an assist from Matvey.

South Korea then regained the lead with two minutes left in the first half when Kang Kang-wook scored a header off a free kick. After going into halftime with the lead, South Korea scored their third goal of the game in the 15th minute of the second half when Ha Jung-woo took advantage of a passing mistake by the opposing defense and fired a powerful shot into the top right corner of the goal.

Ukraine responded in the 22nd minute when Serhiy scored a header from a free kick to tie the game. Substitute Baek Min-kyu scored the final goal of the match to seal the victory for Korea.

Coach Lee Chang-hyun, who coached the Korean U-18 team at the tournament, said, “I’m happy to win the first game. The players did a good job in training and I think it showed in their performance. I hope they will continue to grow.” 스포츠토토

The Seoul EOU Cup is an international tournament featuring U-18 teams from Korea, Ukraine, Morocco and Vietnam. The four teams will compete in a full league format at Mokdong Stadium in Seoul. The tournament’s name, EOU, stands for “EARTH ON US,” meaning “Earth and Community. The Seoul EOU Cup is co-hosted by the Seoul Football Association and the Korea Sports Agents Association, co-organized by the Seoul Sports Council and the Korea Sports Agents Association, and sponsored by Seoul Metropolitan Government, Shinhan Bank, Hyundai Motor Company, Adidas, Etch-Way, Korea Sports Promotion Agency and Righteous Seoul Hospital, with WWF Korea as a partner.

South Korea will play Morocco in the second game of the tournament on Nov. 12. Morocco defeated Vietnam in the first game of the tournament.