Day five of the China-Korea Youth Challenge: Three Towns continue winning streak against Korea, Seongnam leads with 15 points from 5 matches

Reported by Zuo Ruifa from Dingnan, Jiangxi "462 Cup" inaugural China-Korea Youth Football Elite Challenge wrapped up its fifth round on the 16th. Seongnam FC dominated with 15 points from five matches, and Incheon United, with 4 wins plus a penalty shootout victory, maintained the top two positions on the standings. Meanwhile, among the other Korean teams, HSFA Hwaseong experienced four straight losses, falling out of championship contention, while Yongin FC halted their slide with a crucial victory. Wuhan Three Towns, despite missing four key national youth players, defeated Hwaseong, preserving the only Chinese victory in today's China-Korea challenge and becoming the first Chinese team to beat a Korean opponent twice in regular time.

Shenzhen Xinpengcheng 0-4 Seongnam FC

As the only undefeated team in the tournament, Seongnam FC scored early in the 5th minute through No. 36 Lian Zhixun, who slid the ball into the far corner inside the box. In the 25th minute, No. 30 Kim Min-gun added another with a powerful long-range shot from the edge of the penalty area. At the 35th minute, No. 13 Kim Geon-woo, using excellent dribbling skills, broke through multiple defenders centrally and passed to Lian Zhixun on the right, who scored his second goal of the match with a tight-angle shot. In the 42nd minute, Kim Geon-woo combined brilliantly with teammates in the center before chipping the ball to seal the 4-0 scoreline.

Incheon United 3-0 Chengdu Football Association

Incheon United made extensive rotations for this match. At the 22nd minute, captain No. 19 Lee Yoo-jun passed across midfield to left wing-back No. 32 Park Jun-ho, who scored a spectacular 30-meter shot, giving Incheon a 1-0 lead going into halftime. In the 44th minute, Lee Yoo-jun fired a long-range shot from outside the box, doubling the lead for Incheon. Just a minute later, No. 25 Hwang Bo-tae scored inside the box to extend the lead to 3-0. With the victory secured, Incheon substituted five starters including Lee Yoo-jun and Hwang Bo-tae, preserving strength for upcoming matches.

HSFA Hwaseong 2-3 Wuhan Three Towns

Within 36 seconds of kickoff, Wuhan Three Towns quickly exploited the right flank to break open the defense on the left wing of the box, with No. 12 Zhao Cenrui scoring a tap-in. At the 20th minute, No. 9 Chen Jiaqi combined with teammates to squeeze into the box and score, making it 2-0. At the 30th minute, No. 25 Kim Eun-yu pulled one back for Hwaseong, and five minutes later, No. 28 Shin Kyu-won curled a corner kick into the goal, leveling the score at 2-2. At the 47th minute, Chen Jiaqi skillfully escaped two defenders and poked the ball into the net. Wuhan Three Towns claimed their fourth victory in five rounds with a 3-2 win, marking their second triumph over a Korean team after a 5-0 thrashing of Yongin FC.

Ganzhou Youth Training Center 0-2 Yongin FC

Ganzhou Youth Training Center, winless and goalless in the first four rounds, suffered another defeat against a Korean opponent this round. As another host team, Ganzhou’s goalkeeper Liu Junyi made several saves to keep a clean sheet in the first half. In the 51st minute, Yongin’s No. 10 Nam Seung-woo scored off a teammate’s cross; at the 69th minute, No. 20 Hong Rongbin added another goal in a scramble near the goal. Yongin FC secured a 2-0 victory, gaining an advantage for their sixth-round match against Guizhou Football Association to qualify for the championship group.

In the other four matches held the same day, Evergrande Football School crushed Dingnan Dream 11-0, Xi’an Sports School lost 1-2 to Guangdong Mingtou, Henan was defeated 0-3 by Zhejiang FC, and Shanghai Port beat Guizhou Football Association 3-0. After this round, 20 out of 32 China-Korea challenge matches have been played, with Korean teams leading 13 to 7.

In the standings, the top six positions held by Seongnam FC, Incheon United, Guangdong Mingtou, Shanghai Port, Evergrande Football School, and Wuhan Three Towns are secure. Chengdu Football Association and Yongin FC, each with 7 points, can enter the championship group with a win in the sixth round. Zhejiang FC, Guizhou Football Association, and Dingnan Dream, all with 6 points, still have hopes of qualifying. According to tournament rules, the last two rounds of the second phase will split the teams into an eight-team championship group and a ranking group.

Points system: Win - 3 points, Penalty shootout win - 2 points, Penalty shootout loss - 1 point, Loss - 0 points