South Korea Out To Salvage Pride In AFC U-16 Football Tournament

PETALING JAYA (Selangor, Malaysia) Sept 21 (Bernama) — Two-time winners South Korea are looking for redemption by achieving a top four finish in the 2018 AFC Under 16 (U-16) Football Championship, here. Head coach Kim Jung Soo said the team has to forget their past disappointment after failing to qualify to the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India following their third place finish in the preliminary round of the 2016 AFC U-16 meet in the same country. He added that the players are ready for Group D action in this year’s edition which sees the young Taegeuk Warriors drawn against Australia, Afghanistan and also defending champions, Iraq. “We failed to qualify to the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup and we hope to redeem the disappointment by qualifying to the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru by scoring a positive result in Malaysia. “We have brought strongest squad for this tournament that matches our style of play and we made 30 per cent changes from the previous edition as we consistently look for competitiveness in every tournament we play,” Kim told the pre-tournament press conference, here, Friday. In this regard, Kim noted that he was aware of the strength of Australia when both sides meet in their opening Group D match at the Petaling Jaya City Stadium and expressed confidence that his boys are up to the task, having undergone rigorous preparation prior to the biennial youth football tournament. Sharing his views was Australia’s U-16 head coach, Trevor Brian Morgan who said that he was confident that the Young Socceroos would improve their performance in the 2018 edition, having returned home early following three straight defeats in the group stage in the 2006 edition. “We focused on our preparation because we had a strong opponent in our group coming into our way, but I hope we can progress further to the next round. “Nonetheless, I’m not concerned about myself despite take charge of this team in less than two months as I have a 20 years experience in the Australia Youth Football Coaching system,” Brian added. — BERNAMA