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Korea's U-23 squad faces Iran in first Asian Cup match Wednesday

Published: 06 Jan. 2026, 14:58 Updated: 06 Jan. 2026, 17:58

The U-23 Korean national team trains at Korea Football Park in Cheonan, South Chungcheong on Dec. 15, 2025. [YONHAP]

Korea will kick off their 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup journey on Wednesday with a match against Iran after suffering a quarterfinal loss at the previous edition that cost the young Taeguk Warriors an Olympic qualification.

Korea, led by manager Lee Min-sung, will face Iran at Al-Shabab Club Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before playing Lebanon on Saturday and Uzbekistan on Tuesday in Group C.

This year's U-23 Asian Cup does not serve as an Olympic qualifying tournament like the 2024 edition, when Korea lost the quarterfinal to Indonesia and failed to qualify for the Olympics for the first time in 40 years.

Iran has long been a tricky opponent for Korea, while Uzbekistan has also performed well at the U-23 Asian Cup in recent years with runner-up finishes in 2022 and 2024. As for Lebanon, the upcoming match would mark the first clash between the two sides at the U-23 level.

The 2026 edition has four groups of four, with top two teams from each group reaching the quarterfinals. Defending champions Japan are competing in this year's edition in Group B.

Korea has won the tournament once in 2020. This year's squad is heading to the pitch on the back of a solid defense, which did not allow a single goal across three straight wins during U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers last year.

The 23-man squad includes five players — center-back Lee Chan-wook of Gimcheon Sangmu, midfielder Kim Yong-hak of Portimonense, midfielder Kang Sang-yoon of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, midfielder Kang Seong-jun of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings — from the 2023 U-20 World Cup team, which reached the semifinals.

“We need to reach at least the semifinals at the Asian Cup,” Lee Min-sung said. “As this is the first tournament of the year for Korean football, we will do our best for a good start.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PIH JU-YOUNG [[email protected]]