South Korea's under-17 national soccer team surged to the top of Group C at the U17 Asian Cup after scoring four second-half goals in a 4-1 victory over Vietnam at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Sunday.
After opening the tournament with a 1-1 draw against the United Arab Emirates, South Korea's win takes them to 4 points, overtaking Vietnam which has 3 points after a win and a loss.
South Korea will face Yemen in its final group-stage match on May 14.
South Korea fell behind in the 32nd minute after conceding to Le Si Bach, but rallied late with four goals in the closing stages of the second half.
Ahn Sun-hyun of Pohang U18 equalized in the 84th minute with a free kick before Nam I-an of Ulsan U18 scored the go-ahead goal two minutes later.
Ahn Ju-wan of Seoul E-Land added another in the 88th minute, scoring in back-to-back matches at the tournament.
Kim Ji-woo of Busan U18 sealed an emphatic win with a fourth goal in stoppage time.
The 16-team tournament is divided into four groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarterfinals.
The top eight teams will qualify for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will be held in Qatar in November.
South Korea has won the AFC U17 Asian Cup twice, in 1986 and 2002, and reached the semifinals in the last year's tournament, which was also held in Saudi Arabia.
(This article was produced with the assistance of AI and edited by Korea Herald staff. — Ed.)
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