Hosts South Korea will play Portugal in their round of 16 match of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in front of a sell-out crowd, the local organizing committee of the men's football event said Sunday.
South Korea will face Portugal at the 25,814-capacity Cheonan Sports Complex in Cheonan, some 90 kilometers south of Seoul, on Tuesday to vie for a quarterfinals spot at the U-20 World Cup. The organizers said tickets for the round of 16 match were sold out after South Korea confirmed second place in Group A following their match against England on Friday.
South Korea`s under-20 national football team players wave to fans after losing 1-0 to England at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on May 26, 2017. (Yonhap)
The organizers said ticket offices at the Cheonan Sports Complex will open at 3 p.m. on match day, but they will only sell tickets that are refunded.
South Korea were narrowly defeated by England 1-0 in Suwon, some 40 kilometers south of Seoul, and finished runners-up in Group A with two wins and one loss. The result forced the young Taeguk Warriors to meet Portugal, which finished second in Group C. The two-time tournament champions were tied with Costa Rica with one win, one draw and one loss in Group C, but won second place with a better goals scored tally.
The organizers said this is the third time at the U-20 World Cup that tickets for South Korea matches were sold out.
The organizers previously announced that South Korea's tournament opener at the 41,785-seat Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, where they collected a 3-0 win over Guinea on May 20, and South Korea's final group stage match against England at the 42,655-capacity Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, were sold out. However, both stadiums did have empty seats on the match day as there were no-shows.
Meanwhile, nine countries have so far qualified for the knockout stage. With hosts South Korea, England, Venezuela, Mexico, Zambia, Portugal, Uruguay, Italy and France securing spots in the round of 16, seven more teams will be determined after Group E and F matches are completed later Sunday.
In this 24-team FIFA competition, the top two from each of the six groups and the four best third-placed teams advance to the last 16.
The round of 16 matches of the U-20 World Cup will be played from Tuesday to Thursday. The U-20 World Cup kicked off May 20 in six local cities and will run until June 11. (Yonhap)