Jeddah: South Korea's journey toward the title at the top Asian men's under-23 football tournament came to an end in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Coached by Lee Min-sung, South Korea fell to Japan 1-0 in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in Jeddah.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Kaito Koizumi scored the match's lone goal in the 36th minute. Shuto Nagano got off an initial header off a Ryunosuke Sato corner that goalkeeper Hong Seong-min saved, but the rebound went to unmarked Koizumi, who poked the ball home for a 1-0 Japan lead. South Korea had just one shot attempt in the first half to Japan's 10.

South Korea increased their attacking pressure after the restart but couldn't crack the Japanese defense. Jang Seok-hwan struck the crossbar with a left-footed shot from outside the box in the 58th minute, the closest that South Korea came to scoring in this match. Four minutes later, Kang Seong-jin unleashed a scissors kick to force a tough save by Rui Araki. Kim Tae-won then hit the right side of the net during stoppage time after receiving a long ball from Jang. South Korea held a 7-2 advantage in shot attempts in the second half.

Coach Lee expressed his disappointment over the team's performance in the opening 45 minutes, emphasizing the need for the players to be more assertive. "I think our players were too timid. Then we fought back in the second half and it's a shame we didn't score," Lee said at his post-match press conference. "I hope our players will use this as an opportunity to grow." Lee noted that South Korea didn't press as hard as they should have up front. "We addressed that issue in the second half and responded well, but ultimately, you have to score to win in football," the coach added. "We have to improve in that area."

With an eye toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Japan took a younger team to Saudi Arabia, including three 18-year-olds. South Korea, on the other hand, had an older group with several 22-year-olds and just two teenagers. South Korea played three group stage matches and two knockout matches at this tournament and failed to score in three of them.

South Korea will play in the third-place contest against the loser of the other semifinal match between Vietnam and China. The match will take place at 6 p.m. Friday (local time) at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium, or midnight Friday in South Korea. "We're not going to go all-in on attack just to score goals, and we're not going to sit back and play defense the whole time to keep the other team from scoring," Lee said of his approach to the next match. "We will focus on achieving the right balance."

South Korea were aiming for their first AFC U-23 title since 2020, marking their first trip to the last four since that year.