The Korean under-17 (U-17) national soccer team, led by coach Byeon Seong-hwan (44), faces a formidable opponent.
As a result of the draw for the 19th FIFA U-17 Indonesia World Cup held in Zurich, Switzerland on the 15th, Korea was placed in Group E along with France,스포츠토토 Burkina Faso, and the United States.
This U-17 World Cup will be held in Indonesia from November 10 to December 2. Korea aims to advance to the round of 16 by facing the United States on the 12th, France on the 15th, and Burkina Faso on the 18th in the group stage.
Originally, this competition was scheduled to be held in 2021. However, it was canceled due to the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) and was pushed back to this year. It will be held four years after the 2019 Brazil Games. The top two countries in each group and the four countries with the best results among the top three will advance to the round of 16 and determine the winner through a tournament.
Byun Seong-Hwan won a ticket to the finals by finishing second in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-17 Asian Cup held in Thailand last July.
Korea, which advanced to the finals for the 7th time, succeeded in advancing to the round of 16 on all but two occasions (2003 and 2007), with the best result being the quarterfinals. The first time they advanced to the finals was in the 1987 Canada Tournament (U-16). Korea, led by coach Kim Sam-rak, advanced to the quarterfinals with Noh Jeong-yoon, Seo Jeong-won, Shin Tae-yong, and Kim Byeong-soo playing an active role.
Korea was eliminated in the group stage at home tournaments held in Finland in 2003 and Korea in 2007, but in the 2009 Nigeria tournament, coach Lee Gwang-jong led a squad that included Son Heung-min, Kim Jin-soo, Lee Jong-ho, and Yoon Il-rok to advance to the quarterfinals.
Korea, which was satisfied with reaching the round of 16 at the 2015 Chile Games, reached the quarterfinals again with coach Kim Jeong-su at the 2019 Brazil Games. Players who were active at the time included Uhm Ji-seong, Jeong Sang-bin, Lee Tae-seok, and Lee Han-beom.
France was included in the same group as Korea this time, following 2019. France recently advanced to the finals of this competition for the fourth time in a row and took third place in the last competition. They beat Korea 3-1 in the group stage.
This is Burkina Faso’s fifth time in the finals, following New Zealand in 1999, Trinidad and Tobago in 2001, Nigeria in 2009, and Mexico in 2011. In 2001, they advanced to the semifinals. They lost to Nigeria, fell to the third place match, and then lost again to Argentina. This is my first meeting with Korea.
The United States advanced to the finals in all but one of the 19 competitions (United Arab Emirates). Their best result was the semifinals in the 1999 competition. They met with Korea in the group stage in 1987 and lost 4-2, and in 2003, they won 6-1 against Korea.
▲ 2023 FIFA U-17 Indonesia World Cup group composition results
Group A Indonesia, Ecuador, Panama, Morocco
Group B Spain, Canada, Mali, Uzbekistan
Group C Brazil, Iran, New Caledonia, England
Group D Japan, Poland, Argentina, Senegal
Group E France, Burkina Faso, Korea, USA
Group F Mexico, Germany, Venezuela, New Zealand