Korea snaps two-game losing streak, hopes for round of 16 still alive

The South Korea Under-17 (U17) national soccer team, led by Byun Sung-hwan, is on the brink of elimination from the FIFA U17 World Cup 2023 in Indonesia. The team’s chances of advancing to the knockout rounds have diminished after two consecutive losses in the early stages of group play.

South Korea fell 0-1 to France in their second Group E match on Friday (Sept. 15). South Korea conceded the first goal in the second minute of the first half after failing to prevent the opponent’s unorthodox set-piece attack from a corner kick crisis. We were unable to equalize after being dragged down and suffered a bitter defeat.

It was their second straight loss, following a 1-3 group stage loss to the United States on Wednesday. Without a point, the team’s hopes of reaching the round of 16 faded. Scored one goal and conceded four in two games. They finished third in Group E on goal difference, ahead of Burkina Faso, who had two wins, one loss, and five goals.

Losing both the first and second games made their chances of reaching the round of 16 very slim, but they are not out of the competition. A glimmer of hope for the Round of 16. The third-place wildcard in Group E is the most likely way to reach the last 16. As long as they don’t lose their third group game against Burkina Faso on the 18th, they’ll finish third in the group. If they finish third, they’ll be looking at a wild card. 

There are 24 countries in the tournament. The teams are divided into six groups of four. The first and second place finishers advance directly to the round of 16. The four best performing teams in the third place group will receive a wildcard berth into the round of 16. For Byunsung Hwan-ho, the best way to reach the 토토 round of 16 is to beat Burkina Faso and finish third in the group. We need to make our goal difference as high as possible and compare our performance with the other three groups. 

Realistically, it’s hard to get a wildcard with one point. First of all, you need to beat Burkina Faso. Even with 3 points, a positive goal differential will improve your chances of finishing in the top four of the six teams in the group. In conclusion, we need to put up a big score against Burkina Faso and watch the other countries’ matches. Even though the number of round of 16 options has become very small, there is still hope.