S. Korea, Denmark play to 1-1 draw in Olympic football prep tournament

June 7, 2016
South Korean Olympic football team midfielder Kim Seung-jun (C) heads the ball during their match against Denmark at the four-nation football tournament at Bucheon Stadium in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, on June 6, 2016. (Yonhap)

South Korean Olympic football team midfielder Kim Seung-jun (C) heads the ball during their match against Denmark at the four-nation football tournament at Bucheon Stadium in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, on June 6, 2016. (Yonhap)

BUCHEON, South Korea (Yonhap) — South Korea and Denmark played to a 1-1 draw in their final match at an Olympic football prep tournament on Monday.

A goal by Moon Chang-jin put South Korea on the verge of victory, but an added-time equalizer by Danish forward Nicolai Brock-Madsen forced the hosts to settle for their second draw at the four-nation tournament.

Nigeria and Honduras also competed here: earlier Monday, Nigeria defeated Honduras 3-1.

South Korea wrapped up the tournament as the runners-up with a win and two draws. The hosts on Thursday edged Nigeria 1-0 and had a 2-2 draw against Honduras on Saturday. Denmark won the event with two wins and a draw.

Gearing up for the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games, South Korea invited Nigeria, Denmark and Honduras for the tournament as a warm-up for players under 23. All four participants have already qualified for the Rio Games, where 16 teams will compete in men’s football in August.

At Bucheon Stadium in Bucheon, 24 kilometers west of Seoul, South Korea started the match with a 4-2-3-1 formation, playing 190-centimeter striker Kim Hyun up front. Attacking midfielder Ryu Seung-woo, who played with the German side Arminia Bielefeld last season, had the first shot off in the fourth minute, but his right-foot effort went over the net.

Denmark’s first shot came in the 22nd when forward Robert Skov struck with his left foot, but his attempt went left of the goalkeeper Gu Sung-yun. The visitors then made their first substitution in the 26th, with striker Nicolai Brock-Madsen coming on for midfielder Kasper Nielsen.

South Korea came close to scoring when midfielder Kim Seung-jun headed down Moon’s corner kick in the 32nd, but his effort was denied by Jeppe Hojbjerg. Moon then struck with his left foot in the box in the 35th, but it went straight to the goalkeeper.

Danish forward Frederik Borsting stung Gu’s palms with his left-footed shot from the distance in the 36th. But three minutes later, South Koreans finally broke the deadlock when Moon slotted the ball into the net after receiving a pass from Kim Seung-jun to finish their counterattack.

In the second half, South Koreans pushed forward with Moon and half-time substitute Hwang Hee-chan, who came in for Kim Hyun. But Moon’s effort in the 49th was deflected by a defender out of play, and he had another shot in the 50th saved by Hojbjerg.

Denmark, which poured in 10 goals in their previous two matches against Nigeria and Honduras, slowly found their attacking rhythm with team captain Lasse Vigen getting in on the action in the 60th, though he airmailed one over the net. In the 75th, substitute Martin Vingaard took a right-footed shot, but it went wide.

While 14,690 home fans at the stadium were ready to celebrate a win, Denmark stunned South Korea in stoppage time when Brock-Madsen converted a pass from Vingaard to level the score.

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