The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, where Korean men’s soccer wrote the legend of advancing to the finals of the FIFA competition organized by the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) for the first time in history. The main character was Lee Kang-in (Mallorca), who won the Golden Ball, the best player (MVP), but goalkeeper Lee Kwang-yeon (Gangwon) was the player who received as much attention. At that time, Lee Kwang-yeon recorded countless saves in the process of coming up to the final, firmly guarding Korea’s last line, and even earned the nickname ‘Bit Gwang-yeon’.

Kim Jun-hong (20, Gimcheon) is on the U-20 national soccer team, who wants to recreate the glory of that time four years later.

The Korean U-20 soccer team, led by coach Kim Eun-joong, played Uzbekistan on the 15th at the Bunyodkor Stadium in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-20 Asian Cup semifinals, where they drew 0-0 for 120 minutes until extra time. They lost 1-3 in the ensuing penalty shootout and failed to advance to the final.

Although they failed to win the championship for the first time in 11 years, Korea won a ticket to the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals, which was their top priority. The U-20 World Cup will be held in Indonesia in May.

Although there were unfortunate losses and there were parts to be supplemented, there were also quite a few gains. In particular, the stability that the starting goalkeeper Kim Jun-hong showed throughout this tournament was impressive. Korea boasted an impregnable defense conceding only one goal in five games in this tournament, and Kim Jun-hong’s role was decisive.

In particular, in the game against Uzbekistan that day, he showed great concentration at the end of the game when his physical strength was declining, and made a more brilliant save. Uzbekistan, backed by the one-sided support of the home fans, launched a wave of attacks, but Kim Jun-hong did not concede a single goal. In the second half of the extra time, he jumped out with quick judgment in a one-on-one situation with an opponent and kicked the ball away with a tackle.

Overtime was Kim Jun-hong’s solo performance. In the 15th minute of the first half of extra time, he managed to block the opponent’s shot, leaving a crisis. Shortly before the end of the second half of extra time, Sherzod Esanov’s right-footed strong shot in the penalty area was also dismissed with animalistic reflexes. Had it not been for Kim Jun-Hong’s save, Korea could have lost without even going into overtime. 메이저사이트

Kim Joon-hong, who is famous as the son of Incheon United goalkeeper coach Kim Yi-seop, is a goalkeeper prospect who boasts a sturdy physique of 190 cm and 87 kg. Kim Joon-hong, who was born in Jeonju but played football in Incheon following his father who played in Incheon, grew rapidly after transferring to Geumsan Middle School, a youth team in Jeonbuk Hyundai. He even participated in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2019, and in 2021 signed a semi-professional contract and even made his professional debut in the first team of Jeonbuk.

The show lost its shine because it failed to reach the finals in this competition, but the main stage will be held in May anyway. Kim Jun-hong is preparing to take over the great save Lee Kwang-yeon showed at the U-20 World Cup four years ago.