AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup - Relieved Park applauds Korea Republic’s grit

Pathum Thani: Head coach Park Youn-jeong admitted Korea Republic were put through the wringer before securing a 2-1 victory over Thailand in their AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Thailand 2026 quarter-final on Sunday.

The two-time champions netted their winner in the second half of extra time after the match ended in a 1-1 stalemate at the end of regulation time, leaving Park vastly relieved.

#U20WAC | Quarter-finals: Thailand 1-2 Korea Republic

“I'm proud of my players, but this was not their best performance,” she said. “I hope they show their full potential in the future.”

The East Asian side took a 16th minute lead through Nam Seung-eun but let their guard down to allow a determined Thailand to level in the 72nd minute. Substitute Park Ju-ha then found the back of the net in the 106th minute after their opponents looked the more likely to score.

While pleased with the end result, Park pointed out numerous weaknesses and also gave credit to Thailand for their never-say-die spirit.

“We failed to convert our chances, our finishing was not as I expected and our defence was disorganised,” said Park. “I still need to figure out where our strengths were in this match.”

“They did well and made things difficult for us, especially in the second half and thanks to that, we were able to learn a lot from this match in the end.”

Korea Republic's win set up a semi-final meeting with defending champions DPR Korea on Wednesday and also earned them their eighth appearance at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

“We are in the semi-finals and going to the World Cup, so I'm happy,” she said. “The players deserve this.”

Relieved Park applauds Korea Republic’s grit

Q-final: Thailand 1-2 Korea Republic

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