"Why are you guys so tall?"

South Korea finished 2-2 with Tajikistan in the quarterfinal of the 2025 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-17 Asian Cup, held on the 15th (Korea time) at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, after Kim Ji-sung's equalizer in the dying moments of regular time when they were trailing 1-2. They then secured their semifinal berth by outpacing Tajikistan 5-3 in the penalty shootout.

This U-17 Asian Cup also serves as the qualifier for the U-17 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in November. The number of participating countries has significantly increased from 24 to 48 starting this year. Although they lost the first match to Indonesia 0-1, they successfully advanced through the group stage, securing their World Cup ticket.

Facing Tajikistan was not easy, but South Korea emerged victorious in the end, reaching the semifinals. Their opponent is Saudi Arabia, which joined them after defeating Japan in the quarterfinals. South Korea's last championship was at the 2002 United Arab Emirates tournament. In the previous 2023 tournament in Thailand, Byun Seong-hwan's team reached the finals but was defeated by Japan.

If South Korea wins, it will be their first championship in 23 years. If they defeat Saudi Arabia in the semifinals, they will face the winner between Uzbekistan and North Korea in the finals. Both teams consistently show strength in their respective age-group national teams, so the remaining journey can still be considered challenging.

Meanwhile, North Korea gained momentum by thrashing Indonesia, which South Korea lost to, 6-0 in the quarterfinals. They have shown the most overwhelming performance throughout this tournament. In fact, there are suspicions that North Korea's U-17 national team utilizes adult players, showcasing a particularly strong performance among underage national teams.

Indonesia created a surprise by defeating South Korea 1-0 in their first group stage match. Riding that momentum, Indonesia also defeated Yemen 4-1 and Afghanistan 2-0. Indonesia, with three consecutive victories, met North Korea in the quarterfinals. There are suspicions that North Korea intentionally drew 2-2 with Oman to avoid facing South Korea in the semifinals.

The problem was internal for Indonesia. After conceding the opening goal to Choi Seong-hoon in the 7th minute, Indonesia allowed another goal to Kim Yu-jin in the 19th minute. The flustered Indonesia collapsed, conceding four more goals in the second half. The AFC's website reported, "Relentless North Korea crushed Indonesia 6-0. Still, Indonesia has secured a ticket to the U-17 World Cup in November. Keep your heads up."

After their defeat of South Korea, Indonesian media, once confident about winning the tournament, suddenly changed their tone and began criticizing their national team. 'Tempo' stated, "Indonesia's defeat was due to a lack of mental strength. Winning against South Korea became a curse. The players displayed an attitude of complacency and arrogance. They were busy checking social media comments on their phones after the game."

North Korea's refusal to settle for 2-0 and scoring four more goals was ultimately a victory of mental strength. The media commented, "North Korea's players had a different spark in their eyes. I'm curious about what Chairperson Kim Jong-un told the North Korean players."

Indonesian 'Bola Okayzone' reported, "There were rumors on YouTube that 'the North Korean U-17 national team could be disqualified for using ineligible players. As a result, Indonesia could advance to the semifinals against Uzbekistan.' However, that is not true. Unfortunately, we have yet to find evidence to support that claim."

Bola Okayzone noted, "There are reasons to be suspicious. This is because there were as many as seven players taller than 180cm on the North Korean U-17 national team. There was even one player who stood 190cm tall. In contrast, the Indonesian U-17 national team has only one player who is 180cm. This disparity is unacceptable."

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