Shin Young-rok. AFC photo by Stanley Chou

By Chetan Kulkarni

KOLKATA: Korea Republic goalkeeper Jo Su-huk and striker Shin Young-rok took the blame for the team’s defeat on penalties to archrivals Japan in the semifinals last Thursday.

Su-huk, who had the best record of all custodians before the last four game with just one goal conceded in the quarterfinals against Australia, leaked one goal each in regulation period and extra-time, which led to the penalty shootout in which he let in three even as his teammates could convert only two.

Young-rok, on the other hand, missed several chances to bulge the net when Japan were a man down after Tomoaki Makino’s 85th minute dismissal.

“I don’t want to remember that game," said Su-huk, who kept a clean slate in the group stage.

“It was a disaster and I want to concentrate on the next match against Jordan."

Young-rok echoed the goalkeeper’s thoughts. “I want to say sorry to my teammates. It’s a pity that we lost but I feel I could have scored as a striker. I am sorry that I failed to live up to the expectations," said the striker, who is a FIFA World Youth Championship veteran from last year.

Regarding his own performance, the Suwon Bluewings striker said: “I feel at the moment my positioning is not good enough and I will have to improve my movement in the area. I should get into a better position against the defenders in order to score and I will have to work on that."

Having played in the Netherlands last year against some of the world’s best youth players, Young-rok knows the FIFA U-20 World Cup next year will demand a lot more from this team.

“The FIFA U-20 World Cup will be a tough competition and I hope we can at least make it to the last eight stage. To achieve this, we need to do more training and preparation," said Young-rok.