The reporter reported coldly Although Japan had a somewhat unexpected 2-2 draw with Syria, South Korea defeated Thailand 4-1 to become the fifth team to qualify for the U20 Asian Cup with two consecutive wins. The top eight teams in the senior team in Asia have already qualified with four consecutive wins from Iran, South Korea, Australia and Uzbekistan, while the national youth team has become the lowest-ranked senior national team among the teams currently qualified. In addition, Iraq and Japan are both unbeaten with 1 win and 1 draw, and are still the favorites to qualify. Only Asia's No. 5 Qatar lost both games and went out early, and Asia's No. 8 Saudi Arabia team won 1 and lost 1, leaving the suspense of qualification until the last round of the group stage.

Yesterday, the U20 Asian Cup Group D played two games, and the Japanese team, ranked No. 1 in Asia, was almost the biggest upset of the cup by the Syrian team. Japan's Yuzo Funakoshi rotated five starters, with defensive defenders Kita Kazuya and Tsuchiya Tsuchiya, right wing-back Katsuma Bushi, left winger Shunsuke Saito and center forward Yutaka Michiwaki starting. The starting 11 central defender Tsuchiya Daidai, forwards Ryunosuke Sato and Yutaka Michiwaki (18), goalkeeper Ruwei Araki and right wing-back Kejin (17) are all young players, two more than in the first game against Thailand.

Japan quickly paid the price for their "big deal": Syria continued to take advantage of the emptiness between Japan's back three and right wing-back, and Mustafa opened the scoring in the 10th minute. In the 24th minute, the Syrian team's central defender made a mistake in clearing the header, and Kokura Koga, who was in front of the penalty area, assisted with a header, and his midfield partner Tomosho Oseki equalized with a cold shot. Unexpectedly, in the 33rd minute, the Syrian team took the lead again, and the core of the midfield, Abdi, hit the crossbar with a free kick, and Sophie volleyed home on the left.

Coach Yuzo Funakoshi made two substitutions at the beginning of the second half, and forwards Hisashi Ishii and Kanda Soma came on to change the formation of 4231 to strengthen the attack. Japan had the upper hand in possession (69 per cent), shots on goal (15 to 8) and shots on target (7 to 3), but it wasn't until Ikuru Nakagawa and Rei Umeki came off the bench to increase their running and open up space to attack that they got a real chance to score. In the 85th minute, the Syrian defenders made another mistake in clearing the siege, and the Japanese team fought in the penalty area, and the substitute 17-year-old striker Takaoka Lingsa equalized.

Compared with the Japanese team, which was almost upset, the South Korean team was also the first to lose points, but equalized in the first half. In the second half, he scored 3 goals in a row and won 4-1, winning both games and qualifying ahead of schedule. Coach Lee Chang-won rotated three players in this game, with Suwon Samsung defender Lee Keon-hee, Pohang Steelers midfielder Lee Chang-woo and K2 League Gimpo FC center Kim Jae-jeong starting. In the opening 23 minutes, South Korea's central defender Shin Min-ha made a mistake in the tackle, and goalkeeper Park Sang-young slipped his hand to leak the ball shot by Thailand's Yosakorn into the goal. However, South Korea equalised eight minutes later, when Baek Min-kwon's header was saved and Yoon Yeon-young scored in the stop-up.

After a long run in the second half, Coach Lee Chang-won replaced Daegu FC winger Son Seung-min and 17-year-old striker Park Seung-so of Meitan High School, and the effect was immediate. One minute later, Park Seung-so sent an assist from a cross from the left, and Kim Tae-won of the Portuguese Super League Portimão scored with a header. In the 85th minute, Son Seungmin crossed from the right, and Kim Tae-won scored twice with a header. Three minutes later, substitute Kim Seo-jin sent a brilliant through ball to Park Seung-so to seal a 4-1 victory for South Korea.

The protagonists of the two teams of Japan and South Korea in the second round of the group stage are all 17-year-old rookie players. Takaoka will turn 18 in March and is still a student at Hisho Gakuen High School. In the 2023 U17 Asian Cup, he led the Japanese team to win the championship. He scored four goals in the U17 World Junior Championship to bring Japan to the round of 16. In May last year, Takaoka signed with the J3 League's Miyazaki Bull Bird Club as a specially designated player. He was soon signed by Premier League side Southampton and will leave for England this summer.

Park Seung-so signed a semi-professional contract with Suwon Samsung back in the summer of 2023, becoming the youngest semi-professional player in the K-League (16 years old). Park Seung-so became the youngest player to play in the K2 League in June last year, and then scored his maiden goal against the Ansan Greens, becoming the youngest goalscorer in the K-League. Park Seung-so has attracted the attention of many teams in Europe's top five leagues, including Bundesliga giants Bayern, but due to age restrictions, he will not be able to move overseas until this summer.

Although the South Korean team qualified early, the final round of the group stage between Japan and South Korea is still considered to be the "revenge battle" of the U17 Asian Cup final two years ago. That year, the Japanese team defeated the South Korean team 3-0 to win the championship, and the Japanese team witnessed the main central defender Tsuchiya Daidai, midfielder Ryunosuke Sato and striker Yutaka Michiwaki and other 7 people, including goalkeeper Araki Ruwei and Takaoka Lingsa did not play. The South Korean team has been witnessed by the main defender Kang Min-woo, midfielder Yoon Yeong-young, striker Park Seung-so and other 6 people, and this game will attract much attention because of the duel between two 17-year-old geniuses of Japan and South Korea.