“I was impressed with Korea’s No. 10, he’s a very good player.”
Carmine Nunziata, who led Italy to the final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023, praised South Korea’s “ace” Bae Joon-ho (20-Daejeon) in an interview after the Azzurri’s 2-1 win over South Korea on Monday (June 9). It was an unusual praise for an opposing player.
Nunziata had already recognized Bae’s power before the game. He had watched him in the round of 16 against Ecuador and the quarterfinals against Nigeria. But the Korean ‘ace’ was even more impressive than he realized.
Bae continued to showcase his incredible dribbling and breakthroughs from the left flank attacking space. In the 18th minute, he won a penalty kick to tie the game. In the 22nd minute of the second half, Nunziata brought on Giacomo Patacanti for Bae Joon-ho, who struggled throughout the game. He practically raised the white flag.
He’s still a young player, so it’s hard to make direct comparisons. However, his skills, style of play, and dominance in this tournament are very similar to those of fantasy star Lee Seung-hwan. He’s definitely worthy of the ‘post’ label.
Bae Jun-ho has a fluid touch and turnover skills. He has solid fundamentals and good spatial awareness. He creates chances with his unique ‘touch+turn’ movements, just as Lee did with his so-called ‘annealed turn’, which caused problems for defenders. In particular, he is good at creating space with the ball between his legs. It’s clear that he’s improved his senses with constant practice. His goal in the round of 16 against Ecuador (3-2 win over South Korea) is a perfect example of this.
His passing, dribbling, and dominance of the game are reminiscent of Lee Chung-hwan. He knows how to drop into the second line to create space for his teammates and create chances with killer passes. He can also use his dribble to drive around defenders and increase his team’s offensive energy. He can set the tone of a game with a single play. His skill and competitive nature make him a tougher player in the final third.메이저놀이터
Of course, there are differences. The most noticeable is penetration. Whereas Steady is a striker by trade, dropping to the flanks and back for variety, Bae Jun-ho penetrates deep into the penalty box to create chances. Unlike Stefan, who tends to shoot straight at mid-range, Bae Jun-ho gets close to the goal and is lethal.
He is now 20 years old. He had a tough start to the tournament with injuries and poor form. He came back to life in the tournament and proved his worth. He has definitely outperformed players of his age and has become the ‘Kim Eun Joong-ho Ace’. It will be interesting to see if Bae Jun-ho, who emerged as the best star of the tournament, will be able to establish himself as a ‘post stabilizer’ in the future.