North Korea with a comeback
The 19th Asian Games have started. The games, postponed due to the pandemic, will take place in Hangzhou, China. In Group E, South Korea started the tournament furiously with a 9-0 win against Kuwait. Stuttgart summer signing Woo-yeong Jeong had three successes.
Young-wook Cho, Won-sang Um, Jae-yong Park, Jae-joon An as well as ex-“Lilie” and captain Seung-ho Paik also scored. The 26-year-old is one of three so-called “overage” players that each national team can nominate for the Asian Games. The rest of the squad consists of U23 players, as is the case at the Olympic Games. This year, however, due to the postponement of the games, U24 players were allowed to be nominated. The Asian Games are particularly important for South Korea’s footballers because if they win a gold medal they can shorten their mandatory two-year military service in South Korea to just one month. In this way, Heung-min Son, for example, was able to shorten his service in 2018 on his last opportunity.
Meanwhile, hosts China clearly won 5-1 against India after a 1-1 draw, while Iran and Saudi Arabia drew 0-0. In Group F, North Korea made its comeback after 1,400 days of waiting. The East Asian country returned after a Covid-related break of almost four years with a 2-0 win against Taiwan. Shortly before the start of the tournament, two teams in Group C, Syria and Afghanistan, withdrew.
You can find all games and groups of the Asian Games here.
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