U23- Games of the XXXII Olympiad

[St_Mark]

This will be the first team that makes it to the Olympics in 2020. I'm more confident in this team than any of the previous ones even though they had bigger stars and better talents. Unless we face Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan will be a powerhouse regardless of the opponent.

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I admire your optimism but I am afraid this team as is has no future unless drastically restructured with different players and different strategy/tactics from the coach.



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[Nokhodi]

Why they have Son? Doesn’t he play for Tottenham?
Jahanbakhsh should be out there playing

If Korea wins the gold medal, he will get military service exemption.
He doesn't want to have to go back to Korea early, that is why Tottenham allowed this.

[St_Mark]

If Korea wins the gold medal, he will get military service exemption.
He doesn't want to have to go back to Korea early, that is why Tottenham allowed this.

It's not just Korean, But Iranian U21 players were also promised the same military service deferment.

[Ostad_Goosfand]

Guys look at the age of our roster compared to Korea. Korea had 3 players over 23 we didn’t bring any. One of them is a fix player for a top 4 team in England. We started a 17 year old for U23 tournament

The group stage results were poor but in general outside of team Melli and quieroz we should be used to this , there is a reason we never qualify for olympics.

[JoojehKoobedeh2]

Ok where was Taha Shariati who’s probably our most promising young defender and honestly guys just close this sad ass thread already lol

[Nokhodi]

Ok where was Taha Shariati who’s probably our most promising young defender and honestly guys just close this sad ass thread already lol

Injured.

[versusdamon]

Consider this: we still won 3-2 against the Korean Empire.

[eerooni]

Why they have Son? Doesn’t he play for Tottenham?
Jahanbakhsh should be out there playing

Krancjar should have asked to include Omid Ebrahimi and Kaveh Rezaie, Taremi or even Gucci in the squad( get back out of retirement) to bolster a highly young inexperienced, but hopeful side!

[Javeed]

(LEAD) (Asian Games) S. Korea blank Iran 2-0 to reach men's football quarterfinals

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news...012951315.html

CIKARANG, Indonesia, Aug. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea defeated Iran 2-0 to reach the quarterfinals of the men's football competition at the 18th Asian Games on Thursday.

Hwang Ui-jo and Lee Seung-woo scored a goal apiece at Wibawa Mutkit Stadium in Cikarang, east of Jakarta, to eliminate Iran in the men's football round of 16 match.

South Korea will next face Uzbekistan -- who beat Hong Kong 3-0 earlier at the same stadium -- in the quarterfinal match at Patriot Chandrabhaga Stadium in Bekasi, Jakarta, on Monday.

South Korea, the defending champions, deployed three attackers up front in a 4-3-3 formation, with Hwang Ui-jo in the center flanked by Son Heung-min and Lee Seung-woo.

Son, wearing the captain's armband, had a promising chance in the 12th minute in the box. But the Tottenham Hotspur star's right-footed strike went over the net.

Iran almost delivered a stunner against South Korea in the 18th when Younes Delfi's strike rang the crossbar. South Korea answered back one minute later with Hwang In-beom's right-footed screamer -- which hit the post.

The match heated up in the 31st when the two teams got into pushing and shoving after fierce tackles.

South Korea finally broke the deadlock in the 40th. Left back Kim Jin-ya made a through ball to Hwang In-beom running into the box, who delivered a cross to Hwang Ui-jo to finish with his right foot for a 1-0 lead. It was Hwang's fifth goal in the tournament.

Hellas Verona forward Lee Seung-woo then stepped up to double the lead in the 55th. The 20-year-old dribbled past two Iranian defenders from the left side of the box and fired a right-footed shot that went past goalkeeper Mahdi Amini Zazerani.

South Korea, however, saw their goalkeeper, Jo Hyeon-woo, who made his name internationally through the 2018 FIFA World Cup, leave the pitch in the 59th with an apparent knee injury. He was replaced by Song Bum-keun, who made a start in South Korea's shocking 2-1 defeat to Malaysia in the group stage.

Looking to cut the deficit, Iran pushed forward for goals, but they couldn't get past the energetic South Korean defenders, who were not afraid to throw their bodies on the pitch.

South Korea substituted in defensive midfielder Kim Jung-min in the 89th minute to seal their ticket to the last eight.

The victory was a bittersweet one for head coach Kim Hak-bum, with Jo going out with an injury.

"Even though he walked off the field under his own power, we'll have to see results of further tests tomorrow," said Kim, who doesn't have a third goalkeeper to step in if Song also goes down.

With the star goalkeeper down and out, Kim said the defenders did an outstanding job.

"We faced such a tough opponent, but our players all came together to overcome this hurdle," he said. "I'd like to give kudos to our defenders for not allowing a goal."

Kim also said most of the players on the team have lost to Uzbekistan while they were on the U-20 national team, and they will be motivated to take revenge at the Asian Games.

The coach also said the team chemistry is improving by the day.

"We had players from foreign clubs join us late, and our team cohesion wasn't always where it should be," Kim said. "It was a gamble to take this team to a tournament without having played a tune-up match. I told people that we'd grow tighter and tighter as a team as the tournament progresses. And we'll try to keep improving."

[Paradigm]

Uzbekistan will probably win the men's soccer gold. They have a solid team and had a lot of preparation before the games started.

[Saam]

Uzbekistan will probably win the men's soccer gold. They have a solid team and had a lot of preparation before the games started.

It would be hilarious if Son has to leave Tottenham. Uzbekistan game is gonna be the game of his life.

[nmssis]

[Bandar Hamal]

I won't quote the pics so that the thread will be easier to read [\\

Good pics
Iran sent a really young and inexperienced team to this tournament. Probably that is something the South Korea team talked about before the match as an advantage; it's good to see Son show that kind of class to these kids.

[Iran_19]

Now i don't want focus on 17 years old Delfi, and blame him for this result, but he was pretty disappointing, yes he is 17 where most of players are between 20 to 22 and in this age few years older matter but he showed he can compete with adults last year in league and actually do pretty well. I don't know PSV distraction or too much pressure on him as savor was the reason or what, but hope he learn a lesson or two from this tournament which will help him for Olympics qualifiers. He proved in past he is for real.

[Tehranto]

Now i don't want focus on 17 years old Delfi, and blame him for this result, but he was pretty disappointing, yes he is 17 where most of players are between 20 to 22 and in this age few years older matter but he showed he can compete with adults last year in league and actually do pretty well. I don't know PSV distraction or too much pressure on him as savor was the reason or what, but hope he learn a lesson or two from this tournament which will help him for Olympics qualifiers. He proved in past he is for real.

My gut feeling is that the whole PSV thing is a distraction and he is anxious to get over there.