The solution to Korea’s “Again in 2019” at the FIFA U20 World Cup 2023 was the “Lee Seung-Won-Choi Seok-Hyun” winning equation.
Choi, 20, scored the game-winning goal in the quarterfinals against Nigeria in Santiago del Estero, Argentina, on Friday (June 5) to propel South Korea to the quarterfinals.
Earlier, Choi shared the third goal with Lee Seung-won in a 3-2 win over Ecuador in the Round of 16. The process was similarly deceptive. In the second 메이저놀이터 minute of the second half, Lee Seung-won sent a ball into the box from a corner kick, and Choi Seok-hyun rose high in front of the goal area to redirect it with his head.
His header instincts didn’t come overnight. After graduating from Hyundai Middle and High School in Ulsan, he entered Dankook University last year and made up for his lack of height at 178 centimeters with his jumping ability. He switched to defense in his first year of junior high school, and his blistering speed and power make him a physical player. In the U20 Asian Cup quarterfinals against China in March, he scored a header in the first half of extra time to help his team advance to the quarterfinals.
‘Captain’ Lee Seung-won has played the role of ‘fixer’ well, having been involved in five of Kim Eun-jung-ho’s eight goals in the tournament. The ball he placed on the head of Choi Seok-hyun was his fourth assist of the tournament and fifth offensive point (1 goal, 4 assists). If Lee adds one more goal and one more assist, he will join Lee Kang-in (Mallorca – 2 goals, 4 assists), who won the Golden Ball at the 2019 tournament in Poland, as the only players with six offensive points at the U20 World Cup.
After enrolling at Dankook University last year, Lee made his professional debut in a Gangwon jersey in December of that year, but has yet to make his K League 1 debut. He has been bouncing around the K4 League (fourth division), where Gangwon’s B team plays, and has established himself as an “express delivery man” with his sharp and precise kicks in this tournament.