Kim Eun-jung-ho’s “captain” Lee Seung-won (Gangwon FC) has surpassed “senior” Lee Kang-in (Mallorca) to set a new record for most attacking points by a South Korean player in a Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) competition. He also won the U20 World Cup Bronze Ball honor.
Lee scored the equalizer from the penalty spot in the 24th minute with South Korea trailing 1-0 to Israel in the third-place match at the U20 World Cup 2023 at La Plata Stadium in Argentina on Wednesday. Lee’s goal gave him three goals and four assists, surpassing Lee Kang-in (two goals, four assists), who won the Golden Ball as runner-up at the 2019 tournament in Poland. He is only the third player to score three goals at the U20 World Cup, joining Shin Yeon-ho (1983) and Kim Min-woo (2009).
Prior to the tournament, Lee’s name was still a bit of a mystery compared to Lee Kang-in’s. Four years ago, Lee was a promising prospect who had already made his La Liga debut in Spanish professional soccer, while Lee was new to the age-group national team. He joined Gangwon last December, but has only played in the K4 League (fourth division) and has yet to make his K League 1 debut.
However, he has shown himself to be a “dead-ball specialist,” as all four of his assists in the tournament came from set pieces (three corners and one free kick) and two of his three goals came from penalties.
After leading the ‘One Team’ with a strong center as captain, Lee took home the bronze ball at the tournament’s award ceremony. It was the 메이저사이트third MVP award after the Golden Ball and Silver Ball. It is only the third time a South Korean men’s player has won an individual award at a FIFA-organized World Cup, joining 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup Bronze Ball winner Hong Myung-bo, Ulsan Hyundai coach Lee Kang-in. In women’s soccer, Yeo Min-ji (Gyeongju Hansuwon) won the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe (top scorer) after leading Korea to the 2010 U17 World Cup title, while Ji So-yeon (Suwon FC) won the Silver Ball and Silver Shoe (second top scorer) at the U20 World Cup that same year.
“It was thanks to the sacrifices and help of my teammates that I was able to achieve such a good result,” Lee said after the game, adding, “I will continue to improve as I have such a good title.” “I played without any regrets (even though we lost today). I told my teammates, ‘Let’s go back to Korea with our heads held high,'” he said.
The tournament’s Golden Ball was awarded to Cesare Cassaday (Reading), who scored seven goals to lead Italy to a runner-up finish, along with the Golden Shoe. The Silver Ball was awarded to Alan Maturo of Uruguay, the winner.