Best-ever performance

Young Korean footballers deserve praise despite final loss

The South Korean men's youth team lost to Ukraine 3-1 in the FIFA U-20 World Cup final at Lodz Stadium in Lodz, Poland, Saturday. The loss stopped the young footballers from realizing a dream of becoming world champions. Yet the loss does not necessarily mean their total failure.

All the players and their coaching staff rightly deserve praise for their toil and moil. They played to the best of their ability to the last minute. All the way through to the final they displayed the can-do spirit with fortitude and perseverance.

This made the Korean team, which was considered to be an underdog, win five straight matches, defeating South Africa and Argentina in Group F and then knocking off Japan, Senegal and Ecuador in a row. The team lost its first group match against Portugal. Its achievements were the direct result of the young players' confidence in their excellent skill and team work.

It is worth noting that the footballers trusted each other and united firmly as the one Team." The Korean team also enjoyed playing although the competition was fiercer than ever as seen in the hard-fought match against Senegal in the quarterfinals. It managed to edge out the African country 3-2 in the penalty shootout after extra time.

Our youth's "creative" play also contributed to their advancing to the final against Ukraine. The footballers, who were born between 1999 and 2001, are part of a new generation who think and behave more freely than the old one. This has certainly changed the way they play, a key shift away from the hard-handed spartan way of training in the past.

In addition, head coach Chung Jung-yong's new leadership style has also played an important part in opening a new chapter in the history of Korean men's football. His flexible strategy and tactics made the Korean team strong enough to overpower its rivals throughout the tournament.

All these helped our team produce its best performance. It went beyond the country's advance to the semifinals in the U-20 event in Mexico in 1983 as well as the Korea-Japan FIFA World Cup in 2002. Of course, South Korea won the FIFA title at the U-17 Women's World Cup in 2010.

Some may feel disappointed at the men's team ending up in second place this time. But the performance represents a great leap forward for Korean football. Midfielder Lee Kang-in, 18, who belongs to Valencia CF in Spain, snatched the Golden Ball as the best player of this year's FIFA U-20 World Cup. He scored two goals and four assists in seven matches. His winning of the top individual award is an honor not only for himself, but also his team and country.

Yet the Korean team showed some weaknesses during the FIFA event. So it is necessary to thoroughly analyze what the problems are in order to maximize the country's potential in football. We hope to see our men's team become the world's best in the not-so-distant future.