Everything is going to plan so far for Korea Republic – firmly among the title favourites – who delivered a supremely confident performance in a 5-0 opening match success against Cape Verde Islands.
Having won the Asian Youth Games 2013, also held in Nanjing, midfielder Im Wharang and his team are now keen to write the next chapter in South Korea’s footballing history.
“Winning last year was an incredible moment,” the Young Taeguk Warriors No7 says. “I hope we can maintain our good form in this beautiful Chinese city.”
To do that, they will first have to overcome Vanuatu.
This is the Oceania side’s second trip to the Boys’ Youth Olympic Football Tournament, having previously played at the 2010 competition in Singapore.
They lost both their group matches to Bolivia and Haiti that year, but were able to secure fifth place with a 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe – a result the Pacific islanders will be keen to improve upon in Nanjing.
Coach Moise Poida, a former Vanuatu international player, has a full squad to pick from as his youngsters aim to at least emulate the achievements of their predecessors in Singapore four years ago.
In the Boys’ competition, Iceland made a flying start to the tournament, giving Honduras absolutely no chance with a resounding 5-0 win.
Although this performance will give the Northern European side confidence ahead of their second group match against Peru, coach Freyr Sverrisson says that they cannot get carried away: “There are some strong teams at this tournament and Peru are among them, but we’ll make every effort to win a medal in the end.”
However, the Peruvians are similarly keen to get their hands on some precious metal.
In 2013, coach Juan Jose Ore proved his aptitude for promoting and developing young talent to the highest level, when guiding the national team to the South American U-15 Championship.
Match Details
Youth Olympic Games Boys’ Football Tournament
Jiangning Sports Centre Stadium
Monday 18 August, 2014
Korea Republic v Vanuatu
Kick-off: 8.45pm local time
Ends
Story reproduced courtesy FIFA.com
Image courtesy Getty Images

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