The Asian Games football team, led by coach Lee Min-sung, defeated Japan 1-0 on the 3rd in the men's football final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, thanks to Um Ji-sung's opening winning goal. As a result, Korea has won four consecutive Asian Games gold medals since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang tournament, marking their fourth consecutive gold medal and seventh overall championship. This match was said to be more burdensome than the usual Korea-Japan match, as Korea fielded players under 23 years old according to the tournament rules. In contrast, Japan was composed of players two years younger. While Korea has even brought in wild cards like Um Ji-sung (Swansea City), Lee Ki-hyuk (Gangwon), and Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic), the opponent is targeting the Los Angeles (LA) Olympics two years from now. Not a single wild card player was selected, which further increased the comparison. However, for Coach Lee Min-sung, since the match required him to prepare for backlash if they didn't win, he had no choice but to start with the best players, including 'Captain' Lee Ki-hyuk, who had recovered from a foot injury. Nevertheless, except for Um Ji-sung's right-footed shot while dribbling from the left side of the penalty area in the 6th minute, the team struggled throughout the first half, and from mid-half, they gradually lost control to the opponent and struggled. Korea, who had been struggling even in the second half, turned the tide with a magical shot from Eom Ji-sung. In the 16th minute of the second half, Yang Min-hyuk (Westerlo) sent in a cross from the right side, which deflected off the goalkeeper's hand and was flowing, and after catching the ball, he evaded a defender and opened the Japanese net with a left-footed shot. Having changed the momentum, Korea brought on Kang Sang-yoon (Jeonbuk) in the 76th minute for Yang Min-hyuk, They further heightened the sharpness of their attack: in the 24th minute of the second half, Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City) cut in on the flank and fired a shot blocked directly in front of the goalkeeper, and a minute later, Lee Young-jun (Grasshopper) threw himself in from the front of the penalty area to attempt a shot, but it was caught by the goalkeeper. Of course, some of the opponent's shots hit the post or crosses missed and they escaped the crisis, but in the remaining time, they held off Japan's pursuit well and clinched the championship in away ground.
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