South Korea have progressed to the quarterfinals of the 2019 FIFA U20 World Cup, after dispatching Japan 1-0 in their Round of 16 clash in Lublin, Poland.
Despite controlling possession for much of the first half, Japan were unable to convert their superiority into solid goalscoring chances.
The Samurai Blues’ first clear opportunity presented itself just before the half-time whistle, as Nishikawa was denied a chance to strike at an open goal, thanks to a timely defensive intervention from Choi Jun.
Japan thought they had finally taken the lead when Yuka Goke fired in a rebound into the bottom corner of the Korean net, only for the goal to be disallowed for an offside on the initial free-kick, after a consultation with VAR.
Both goalkeepers were on top form to keep the game scoreless going into the last ten minutes of the match.
The deadlock was finally broken when a ball from Choi Jun managed to find the head of target man Oh Se-Hun, who netted his second goal of the tournament with a powerful header which beat Japanese goalkeeper Tomoya Wakahara at the far post in the 84th minute.
This result means that South Korea are the last remaining Asian team in the competition.
They will continue their campaign on Saturday, June 8th, when they take on Senegal in the quarterfinals.