From July 23, 2021, to August 8, 2021, Tokyo Olympics was held. It was supposed to be held in 2020, but as COVID-19 was getting worse, it was postponed. The Korean soccer team attracted Korean soccer fans, and their expectation was very high. The Korean soccer U-23 team picked Hwang Ui-Jo, Park Ji-su, and Kwon Chang-Hoon as wild cards. The Korean soccer fans had high expectations for Son Heung-Min and Kim Min-Jae, but the team opposed the assignments. South Korea got the first rank in Group B, so South Korea was set to have a match with Mexico, the second rank in group A.

For a single-round match, South Korea and Mexico took their own best lineup. The point of the match was Kim Hak-Beom's strategy and Ochoa's performance. South Korea was evaluated that it has enough teams to win against Mexico. Some experts said that this game could make a reverse-like striking defeat by New Zealand. Also, South Korea and Mexico both have great attackers and worse defenders compared to attackers. So, many people expected many goals from diverse players.

▲ Korea Football Association cheers Korean soccer team.

The result was Mexico won with a score of six to three. Martin made the first goal with Vega's heading assist. Lee Dong-Gyeong chased Mexico with a strong shot. Luis Romo made a goal, and Cordova made PK goal after the first quarter. Kim Hak Bum fought the attackers to make more goals. His substitute strategy seemed to succeed when Lee Dong-Gyeong made a goal. However, the lack of defenders made them get more goals. Martin, Cordova, and Aguirre made goals, so the difference in score became much more. In the last minute of the game, Hwang Ui-Jo made a goal, but it was too late to make some more goals. Experts said that Song Beum-Keun's lack of experience and Kim Hak-Bum's bad strategy were the main reasons for their defeat.

▲ Captain Jung Tae-Wook is crying.

Although it was not the best result, the Korean soccer team did their best. They need to be praised for their effort.

By Kwon Seung Min