Korea Come From Behind to Beat China 2-1 and Finally Get Going at the Asian Champions Trophy
South Korea were running out of time in this tournament, and they knew it. Two games, two defeats, no points, and a Chinese side in front of them that had its own winless desperation to deal with. Then, in the second half on Friday, Korea finally played like the team their record says they should be.
China had the better of the first half. They went in 1-0 up at the break, and for a side that had lost 5-4 to Malaysia and 5-2 to India, that lead must have felt like the start of something. It was not. Korea came out after half time, turned the game around, and won 2-1. The Tribune’s Navdeep Gill, reporting from Jalandhar, put it simply: Korea came from behind after conceding one goal to take the win.
That is a big swing in a six-team league where only four go through. Korea move to three points and fourth place, and suddenly Sunday’s opener against Bangladesh is a game they can win to put real pressure on the teams above them. Win that, and they are on six points with a final game against India to come. Lose it, and they are right back in the mess.
For China, this one hurts more than the first two defeats. They were winning at half time against a side that had lost both its games, and they let it go. Three defeats from three, seven goals scored, twelve conceded, and now they need to beat Japan on Sunday just to stay alive in the semi-final race. The 2024 runners-up are one more bad half away from a tournament that ends before the knockouts even start.
Friday’s middle game will not get the headlines the late game got. But when the semi-final places are decided, this is the result people will point back to. Korea refused to go quietly. China, for the third game running, could not hold what they had.
Related:
- https://sportscursor.com/asian-champions-trophy-table-day2-three-teams-six-points-29-october-2026/
- https://sportscursor.com/asian-champions-trophy-sunday-card-malaysia-india-korea-bangladesh-china-japan-1-november-2026/
- https://sportscursor.com/malaysia-6-1-bangladesh-asian-champions-trophy-third-win-30-october-2026/
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