Kazan, Russia: South Korean soccer player Lee Seung-woo, who once played in the U-13 and U-16 team of FC Barcelona but is now with Italian club Hellas Verona, said on Wednesday, after delivering one of the biggest surprises in the history of the World Cup by eliminating Germany, that nobody expected South Korea to win but that the team had confidence in their chances.


COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

South Korea's rising player told EFE that his team was confident that it could win despite having been defeated by Sweden and Mexico in the first two games, adding that his teammates had spent a lot of time playing with each other.


"Nobody expected this, but football is like this: nobody knows what will happen. We're going away happy to have finished the World Cup like this," Lee added.


The 20-year-old football player, who played as a substitute in Wednesday's match against "die Mannschaft", said South Korea is leaving the World Cup "with our heads held high" after it finished third in Group F, behind Sweden and Mexico but ahead of Germany.


Lee commented that the same fate happened to Spain four years ago and this year the favorite teams to win the title are also having a hard time as if there is a curse.


If Mexico had won, South Korea would have qualified to the next round, but as that did not happen, the team played their game and fulfilled its goal, which was to beat Germany, Lee said, while also noting that the team was still a bit disappointed with their elimination.


In addition, Lee, who was transferred from FC Barcelona to Hellas Verona in August 2017 for 1.5 million euros, did not hide his desire " one-day" return to Barca, which still has an option to buy him back.


"I hope to return to Barcelona one day. I would love to," the Korean said.


In Seoul, thousands of fans were celebrating their team's unexpected victory after watching the match in front of the city hall in the South Korean capital late at night.