Korea eliminated in Olympic football qualifiers as poor defense, undisciplined play prove costly

For the first time in 40 years, Korea will not compete in an Olympic men's football tournament.
And the young Taegeuk Warriors only have themselves to blame, after a poor defensive effort and lack of discipline proved costly in the Asian qualifying tournament Thursday night in Qatar.
Korea fell to Indonesia 11-10 on penalties in the quarterfinals of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha.
Korea had to make it to at least the semifinals to have a shot at extending their Olympic appearance streak to 10, dating to 1988.
This year's U-23 Asian Cup doubles as the AFC qualifiers for the Paris Olympics. Only the top three teams — the two finalists and the winner of the third-place contest — will grab their tickets to Paris, while the fourth-place team will face Guinea in a playoff later.

Coached by Hwang Sun-hong, Korea played their worst match of the tournament at the most inopportune time Thursday against what pundits considered an underdog team coached by Korean-born Shin Tae-yong.
After winning all three group-stage matches without conceding a goal, Korea gave up two goals in the first half against Indonesia, both scored by forward Rafael Struick.
Struick's second goal, which broke a 1-1 deadlock during first-half added time, could have been prevented with better defending.
Ivan Jenner sent a Hail Mary of a long pass from his own half toward the box. The ball took a hop just outside the area as Struick chased it down, with defenders Lee Kang-hee and Cho Hyun-taek on either side.
Both Lee and Cho couldn't quite track the flight of the ball. And as Lee tried to block Struick instead of trying to clear the ball out of harm's way, the Indonesia forward danced past him and slotted the ball home past goalkeeper Baek Jong-bum.

Indonesia controlled the run of play in the first half, holding a 7-1 advantage in shot attempts while winning midfield battles with effective press and gap control. Their attackers flashed some skills in making quick passes in tight areas to relieve Korea's pressure.
Hwang brought Lee Young-jun, Korea's leading scorer in Qatar with three goals in two matches, off the bench to begin the second half, but the forward took himself out of the match less than a half-hour later with a costly foul.

While applying some high pressure, Lee collided with defender Justin Hubner deep in the Indonesia zone, and the contact came after the ball had left Hubner.
Lee was initially cautioned, but a video assistant referee (VAR) review upgraded it to a straight red card. Replays showed that Lee had stepped on Hubner's right ankle on the play, and the unnecessary foul cost Korea their most lethal goal scorer.

The playmaking chops of Bae and Yang could have diversified the team's offensive process, while Kim could have been a stabilizing force on the back end. The compromised Korea went through the group stage with three straight clean-sheet victories but then ran into a wall in the first knockout match. Hwang is signed through the end of the Olympics, but with Korea not going to Paris, his time with the U-23 squad will likely come to an end.