The South Korea Under-17 Men’s National Team fell to the United States of America in their first group match at the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) U-17 World Cup.

South Korea, coached by Byun Sung-hwan, fell 1-3 to the United States in their Group E match on day three of the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup at the Jakarta International Stadium in Indonesia on Wednesday.

In an earlier Group E match, France defeated Burkina Faso 3-0 to take the lead in the group.

South Korea will face France in the second match of the group at the same venue on Friday at 9 p.m. ET.

South Korea, whose best finish at the tournament was the quarterfinals in 1987, 2009, and 2019, was aiming for an eighth-place finish or better at the tournament, but after accepting a poor result in the first match, the pressure was on for the remaining matches against France and Burkina Faso.

Korea started Kim Myeong-jun (Pohang U-18) up front, with Yang Min-hyuk (Gangwon U-18), Jin Tae-ho (Jeonbuk U-18), Baek In-woo (Yongin Football Center U-18), and Yoon Do-young (Daejeon U-18) in the second line of attack.

Cha Je-hoon (Junggyeonggo) started in defensive midfield, Seo Jeong-hyeok (Jeonbuk U-18), Yoo Min-joon (Seongnam U-18), Kang Min-woo (Ulsan U-18) and Bae Sung-ho (Daejeon U-18) in the back four, and Hong Seong-min (Pohang U-18) in goal.

Korea looked to take the lead in the fifth minute when Yoon Do-young’s exquisite bicycle kick hit the left post.

However, they were soon down a goal in the seventh minute.

A forward pass from the U.S. bounced off the foot of Kang Min-woo, and the onrushing Nymphasya Berkimas slammed it home to open the Korean goal.

Korea pushed forward in search of an equalizer after the goal, and in the 35th minute, Kim Myung-jun finally made it 1-1.

Yang Min-hyuk’s powerful mid-range shot from the front was saved by the U.S. goalkeeper, and Kim slid the rebound into the net to celebrate.

Prior to that, South Korea hit the post twice in the first half as Yang Min-hyuk beat the opposing defense from the left flank to the front of the goal area and his mid-range shot also hit the left post.

Although the score ended 1-1, there were high hopes for a second-half comeback as Korea dominated the game overall, including 14-4 in shots, 5-3 in shots on goal, and 4-0 in corner kicks.

However, just four minutes into the second half, the U.S. took control of the game with a goal from Cruz Medina.

Goalkeeper Hong Seong-min saved a shot from Berkimas, who had opened the scoring, but Medina pounced on the rebound to make it 2-1.

In the 28th minute of the second half, Berkimas made it 3-1 with a left-footed mid-range shot from the front of the goal area, effectively sealing the game. 토토사이트