After a tough battle, they finally secured three points! Yongin FC won 1-0 against Henan to claim their first victory in the China-Korea confrontation, with all four Korean teams achieving wins.

From Dingnan, Hanbing reporting In this inaugural “462 Cup” China-Korea Youth Football Elite Challenge, the four invited Korean teams—Seongnam FC, Incheon United, and HSFA Hwaseong—all secured victories in the opening round. Only Yongin FC, arriving in Dingnan the night before the tournament started, had not won before the third round. Compared to the other Korean teams, Yongin FC faced a difficult schedule, playing Shanghai Port and Wuhan Three Towns, both Chinese Super League youth teams, in their first two games. The first round saw a tough night match against Shanghai Port, ending in a penalty shootout loss. Therefore, whether Yongin FC could defeat Henan and ensure all four Korean teams had victories became one of the highlights of the third round.

After a harsh 0-5 defeat to Wuhan Three Towns yesterday and some players suffering from colds, Yongin FC chose to rest the entire team this morning. To boost morale, they watched a strong contest between Incheon United and the Evergrande Football School. In the afternoon match against Henan, Yongin FC’s 2012 age group had played a warm-up against Henan’s 2012 players yesterday morning, losing 2-6. However, for the official third-round match against Henan, Yongin FC started with 10 players from the 2011 age group, aiming for a full three points.

In this game, Yongin FC faced Henan’s relentless pressing, and their attack still lacked sufficient options. Due to intense challenges, the match was frequently interrupted by the referee’s whistle, lacking fluidity. Yongin FC’s head coach Kim Sang-won initially stayed seated on the bench but couldn’t help standing in the second half to direct players’ positioning and defense. The deadlock was finally broken in the 54th minute of the second half when Henan’s center-back No. 35 Zhu Wenxu, receiving a goal kick from his goalkeeper, made a sideways pass error that gave the ball to Yongin FC’s captain No. 10 Nam Seung-woo. Nam immediately curled a shot into the far corner, scoring the winning goal. After scoring, an excited Nam ran to the corner flag, celebrating with teammates on the field.

Thanks to this goal, Yongin FC recorded their first win against a Chinese team on the third matchday and completed a clean sweep with all four Korean teams winning. After the match, Yongin FC’s team leader Yoon Seok-jun said the victory was hard-earned: “The team overcame travel fatigue and colds, and their form is gradually improving. The players fought very hard, and fortunately, no one got injured.” He also mentioned the strong contest between Incheon United and Evergrande Football School in the morning, as well as HSFA Hwaseong’s 0-4 loss to Guangdong Mengtou: “Although wins and losses are common, Korea’s long-standing dominance over Chinese football and the results seen in Chinese youth football still have some psychological impact.” After securing their first win in the China-Korea challenge, Yongin FC breathed a sigh of relief. Their upcoming schedule is relatively easier, and team leader Yoon hopes the team’s form will steadily improve to reach the championship group in the second phase.

Nam Seung-woo, the captain who scored the winning goal for Yongin FC, also scored during the penalty shootout in the first match against Shanghai Port, but he said today’s winning goal left the deepest impression on him. After the game, Nam revealed that at the moment of shooting, he thought of his parents and hoped his performance would make them proud. Nam’s idol is Messi, and among Korean players, he admires Lee Kang-in, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain. Like many Korean youth players, besides football, his favorite sport is baseball. In life, he is shy and modest, just as he was during the interview, never playing video games. Even after scoring the winning goal, he did not plan any special celebrations and kept his usual routine to maintain good condition. His dream is simple: to achieve better results with his teammates in this China-Korea challenge.