The South Korean national football team lost to Japan in the final of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation(AFC) U-17 Asian Cup.

The team, led by head coach Byun Sung-hwan, suffered a 3-0 defeat during Sunday’s final match at Pathum Thani Stadium in Thailand.

Team Korea was reduced to ten men in the 44th minute as South Korean defender Ko Jong-hyun was dismissed for a second yellow card for a foul just outside the box, with Gaku Nawata of Japan scoring shortly after.

Down a player for the whole of the second half, South Korea struggled to mount a strong defense while pursuing an equalizer, but Nawata scored again midway through the half before Yutaka Michiwaki cemented Japan’s victory in the last minute.

South Korea, which won the AFC U-17 Asian Cup twice in 1986 and 2002, aimed to win its first title in 21 years, but ended as runners-up.