Kim Eun-joong, the coach of the Korean national soccer team under the age of 20 (U20), showed his caution against Italian midfielder Cesare Casadei (Reading), his opponent in the quarterfinals.먹튀검증
Korea will play the 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup semi-final against Italy at La Plata Stadium in La Plata, Argentina on the 9th at 6:00 am (Korean time).
Korea reached the semifinals once again following the 2019 Polish tournament, where Lee Kang-in (Mallorca) played an active role, becoming the first Asian country to advance to the semifinals of the U20 World Cup for the second consecutive time.
Italy, which competes with Korea for the final, is a formidable team. Italy reached the semifinals three times in a row, following 3rd place in the 2017 Korea Tournament and 4th place in the 2019 Poland Tournament.
On the 7th, coach Kim Eun-joong, who we met at La Plata’s training ground, was asked which players to watch out for in Italy, and he pointedly said, “No. 8 (Casaday) and No. 10 (Tomaso Baldanzi/Empoli).”
Italian classic Casa Dei. ⓒ AFP=News1
Among them, Ace Casaday, who scored 6 goals and 2 assists in this tournament, is the player Taegeuk Warriors should be most careful about.
Casaday joined Chelsea in the English Premier League (EPL) last year and left on loan to Reading in the second division of England in January this year. Casadei scored 2 goals against Brazil and 2 goals against Dominican Republic in this tournament, and scored 1 goal each against England in the 6th round and Colombia in the 8th round, and is recording goals in the last 3 games in a row.
Coach Kim said, “In the case of player number 8 (Casaday), the game is good and he is a midfielder, but he is excellent at scoring.”
He went on to say, “He’s a player who needs to check the number 10 (Tomaso’s foot complex) as well. He has to prepare well for how to stop those players effectively.”
Italy face South Korea in the quarterfinals. ⓒ AFP=News1
Is it a foresight? Coach Kim had the experience of watching the match between Brazil and Italy in the stadium the day before the first match against France in the group stage. It was a head-to-head match between young players representing South America and Europe, so coach Kim watched the game closely.
Coach Kim Eun-joong, who looked back on those days, said, “I remember saying, ‘Italy’s No. 8 player is really good’ when I watched the match. I never dreamed that we would meet here like this when I watched the game that day.” .
Kim Eun-joong, who is undefeated with 3 wins and 2 draws from the group stage to the quarterfinals, is aiming for the final beyond Italy. If they make it to the final, Korea will meet the winner of the Israel-Uruguay match.
Director Kim said, “If it was a battle of mental strength, from now on, it will be a battle of who makes fewer mistakes and concentrates more.”