South Korea successfully defended its title in the men's football event at the 2023 Asian Games, securing a 2-1 comeback victory over Japan in the final match at the Hangzhou Sports Park Stadium on Saturday, October 7, 2023.
This win over Japan marks South Korea's third consecutive Asian Games gold medal in men's football.
South Korea initially fell behind after Japan took the lead just two minutes into the game with a goal from Kotaro Uchino.
However, South Korea's efforts to equalize paid off midway through the first half. Hwang Sun-hong's team leveled the score at 1-1 thanks to Jeong Woo-yeong's strike in the 27th minute.
The Taegeuk Warriors then regained the lead early in the second half with a goal from Cho Young-wook (56'), making the score 2-1.
Japan failed to score an equalizer before the final whistle, resulting in South Korea's victory and the Asian Games 2023 men's football title.
This final match mirrored the 2018 Asian Games final in Jakarta-Palembang, where South Korea also defeated Japan 2-1 to claim the gold medal.
South Korea further solidified its dominance as the most successful team in the men's football event at the Asian Games. In total, the Taegeuk Warriors have won six gold medals in this major Asian sporting competition.
The following is a list of winners/gold medalists in the men's football event at the Asian Games from 1951-2023:
* 1951: India
* 1954: Taiwan
* 1958: Taiwan
* 1962: India
* 1966: Myanmar
* 1970: Myanmar & South Korea (joint champions)
* 1974: Iran
* 1978: North Korea & South Korea (joint champions)
* 1982: Iraq
* 1986: South Korea
* 1990: Iran
* 1994: Uzbekistan
* 1998: Iran
* 2002: Iran
* 2006: Qatar
* 2010: Japan
* 2014: South Korea
* 2018: South Korea
* 2023: South Korea
The following is a list of winners/gold medalists in the men's football event at the Asian Games from 1951-2018 by country:
* South Korea: 6 titles
* Iran: 4 titles
* India: 2 titles
* Taiwan: 2 titles
* Myanmar: 2 titles
* North Korea: 1 title
* Iraq: 1 title
* Uzbekistan: 1 title
* Qatar: 1 title
* Japan: 1 title