The defeat against Indonesia caused U23 Korea to break their streak of 8 consecutive Olympic appearances since 1992. This is also the second consecutive time the representative of the country of Kimchi failed to reach the semi-finals of the U23 Asian tournament.
Before 1992, the Olympic arena allowed national teams to participate. Korean men's soccer has always participated in the Olympics since then. The last time the Korean team did not qualify for the Olympics was in 1984 in Los Angeles (USA) - 40 years ago!
U23 Korea lost to U23 Indonesia
In the history of Olympic participation, Korean football reached its peak with a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Park Chu-young and Koo Ja-cheol are the core that helps Asian representatives resonate around the world.
If only counting the U23 group, Korea is the country with the most Olympic appearances among Asian representatives. Next is Japan with a series of 7 Olympic Games, stretching from 1996 to present.
Losing to Indonesia is a disaster for Korean football.
However, the proud achievement of Korean football was stopped by an opponent from Southeast Asia and being led by a coach of Korean nationality, Mr. Shin Tae-yong.
Mr. Hwang Sun-hong's U23 Korea was rated much higher but had a deadlocked performance and made many personal errors. The East Asian representative allowed Indonesia to concede twice in the first half, even having to play without players from the 2th minute, after striker Lee Young-jun's red card.
With 10 people on the field, U23 Korea still equalized 2-2 and dragged U23 Indonesia to a penalty shootout. However, Lee Kang-hee, the player who made the mistake that led to the second goal, missed in the 2th round, thereby causing Korea to be eliminated.
