Korea Times
October 17

South Korea opened the AFC Under-20 Championships in Qatar with a 1-0 victory over the hosts, yesterday (Korean time) while Uzbekistan thrashed Thailand 4-0.

The Korean team bagged an early goal in the 8th minute and held on the rest of the way for the win. Kim Dong-hun scored after receiving a cross from the right by Jung Jo-gook in the face of a disorganized Qatar defense.

However, the humid weather in Doha, didnt help the Korean team too much. The visitors were forced into defense in the second half as they found the going very hard due to the weather.

Qatar on the other hand just didnt have enough firepower up front to make any difference to the final outcome and were left with a disappointing start to the tournament.

The Korean team will face Uzbekistan on Saturday morning (Korean time).

During the official draw for the tournament, held in Doha on Monday, South Korea were placed in Group A alongside Qatar, Thailand and Uzbekistan.

Group B features Saudi Arabia, Japan, India and Bangladesh, while Syria, China, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates are to play in Group C. The top two teams in each group plus the two best third-placed sides will advance to the quarterfinals.

The top four finishers from the AFC Under-20 tournament will qualify for the FIFA Under-20 event to be staged in the United Arab Emirates in 2003.

The final will be played at the Al Arabi Club on Oct. 31. Iraq won the last edition of the tournament in 2000, beating Japan 2-1 in the final in Tehran.

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