SUWON, Gyeonggi Province ― You don't play football alone.
FC Barcelona's youth player Lee Seung-woo is undoubtedly a football prodigy here in Korea, but he could not dominate the game by himself.
Instead it was Lee Dong-jun who shone, scoring the decider as Korea's under-18 national team clinched a 1-0 victory over Uruguay in their first game of the 2015 JS Suwon Cup at Suwon World Cup Stadium, Wednesday.
Making his under-18 national team debut, Lee was generally quiet except for a few moments where he showed his dribbling skills. Instead, his teammates, who had played together in an international tournament in January, displayed disciplined football to press the Uruguayans.
For Lee, who threw a tantrum after being replaced, he needs to realize that the competition is not a stage for brilliant individual displays, but rather a test-ground for preparing for the 2017 Under-20 World Cup.
"I had problems with my touch and there were many things that I personally regret," Lee Seung-woo said. "This is my first game on Korean soil in the Taeguk jersey, but it was not satisfying. I will do my best in the remaining games and be a better teammate," he added.
Paik Seung-ho, who also plays for the Spanish club, displayed some of the football Barcelona is famous for as he displayed precise passes during his brief second half appearance.
The first half was controlled by the Uruguayans. Balls into Lee were often intercepted. The Koreans allowed possession in the midfield, while the Uruguayan duo of Federico Valverde and Ramirez created a number of chances.
In the 14th minute, a free kick from deep in the Uruguayan half fell to Juan Iganacio Ramirez to offer him a one-on-one chance with the goalkeeper, but his shot veered wide.
Faced with strong pressure, the Koreans could not hold onto the ball long enough to build their own attacks.
In the 35th minute, Lee Seung-woo made an explosive run from the center circle but was fouled just outside the Uruguayan box ― the resulting free kick came to nothing, however.
As they failed to find a breakthrough, Korea's coach An Ik-soo made changes in the middle of the first half. This competition allows up to seven substitutes.
An made another substitute during the break, replacing Oh In-pyo with Lee Dong-jun, and that opened up the game, with the Koreans starting to have more control of the ball.
Six minutes into the second half, Lee infiltrated the Uruguyan defense to receive a Lim Min-hyeok pass and lob over the goalkeeper to score the game's only goal.
After Paik replaced Han Chan-hee, the Koreans had more inspiration in their play. Paik delivered Kim Dae-won a lovely pass to present him with a one-on-one chance with the keeper in the 82nd minute, but his attempt was denied. The build-up play garnered applause from the 5,600 fans in attendance.
The Uruguayans did not give up threatening Korea's goalmouth until the final whistle, with Damian Waller firing a free kick just wide in the 94th minute.
"It is an encouraging result," said coach An. "There were some faults and I believe that's natural because we are still a work in progress. I want to praise the players for their effort," he said adding that he expects Lee Seung-woo to show a better performance and teamwork as time passes.
"Both teams played a fine game," said Uruguay coach Alejandro Garay. "They showed strong pressure in the midfield. I was impressed by Korean football, and I see huge possibilities with them."
Meanwhile, France and Belgium had an interesting 3-3 draw in a game held hours earlier, when the French clawed back a 1-3 deficit during the last five minutes.
From Wednesday, the three-day round-robin competition will feature games between teams from four countries – the hosts Korea, France, Belgium and Uruguay. Korea will face Belgium on Friday, 5:15 p.m., and take on France on Sunday, 6 p.m.
The competition will play a significant part in deciding what players will represent Korea in the 2017 U-17 World Cup. The Koreans did not get a berth in this year's event, but have automatically qualified for the 2017 event as the host country.
"I hope this competition will serve as a chance for young talents to gain experience and become better players," Park Ji-sung, co-chairman of the competition's organizing committee said during the opening ceremony. "Please pay attention to this competition and place your bets on who will become the new stars of the future," Park said.
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