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Six things you should know about the South Korean blind football team

Date: May 3, 2018

Category: Football

With 35 days to count down to the 2018 IBSA Blind Football World Championships in Madrid, Spain, attention turns to the Asian teams who have qualified.
Here are six facts about world ranked No.10 South Korea.
 

  • The South Korea blind football national team was founded in 2004. In that same year they competed at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, which was their first international competition and the debut of blind football at the Paralympics.
  • Though they finished last in Athens, South Korea went on to establish themselves as a powerhouse nation at the IBSA Blind Football Asian Championships. They won silver in 2005 and 2007 and bronze in 2009 and 2013.
  • South Korea have a vast amount of experience at the IBSA Blind Football World Championships, having competed in the last five editions. In 2014 in Tokyo, Japan, South Korea held European giants Germany and Spain to goalless draws and a tight defeat to Argentina 2-1. South Korea also narrowly lost to France 2-1 in the play-offs to finish 10th.
  • In 2017 South Korea fell short of what would have been their third Asian bronze medal, as they lost to Thailand 2-0. However, their fourth-place finish meant that they qualified for this year’s World Championships for the sixth time.
  • Shin Yunchul will be the player to watch, as he is the talisman for the team with his tremendous goal scoring record.

 
The 2018 IBSA Blind Football World Championships will feature 16 of the world’s best teams. As well as the title on offer the competition is also an important step on the road to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. South Korea will play China, Russia and Mexico in group C.
 
After the Opening Ceremony and match on 7 June, the group stages get underway in earnest on 8 June. The quarter finals and play-offs begin on 13 June with the final taking place on 17 June.
 

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