“In our style,” Byun Sung-hwan, who will play in the U-17 World Cup, has the best performance ever, “Beyond the quarterfinals.”

The U-17 national team, led by Byun Sung-hwan, will open its FIFA U-17 World Cup Group E campaign against the United States at the Jakarta International Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The team is drawn in a group with the United States, France and Burkina Faso.

The 24-nation tournament is divided into six groups of four teams. The top two teams in each group, plus the best four third-place teams, will advance to the round of 16. The national team’s best finish has been the quarterfinals on three occasions (1987, 2009, 2019).

Byun will be looking to improve on his best ever U-17 World Cup quarterfinal finish. Byun played aggressive, driven soccer at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-17 Asian Cup in Thailand in June and July. The team finished as runners-up to Japan in the final (0-3 loss), but their performance and style of play were well-received.토토사이트

The squad included 16 members of the Asian Cup runners-up, including captain Kim Myung-jun (Pohang U-18), Kang Min-woo (Ulsan U-18), Lim Hyun-seop (Suwon Samsung U-18) and Yoon Do-young (Daejeon U-18). Bae Sung-ho, Woo Jeong-kyu (Daejeon U-18), Baek Ga-on (Boyango), Lee Kyung-jun (Suwon U-18) and Han Seok-jin (Jeonbuk U-18), who missed the Asian Cup but impressed Byun in training, were also included. Twenty of the 21 players in the squad were born in 2006.

Despite a world stage full of powerhouses, Byun has vowed to maintain the national team’s unique “style. Last month, the team participated in a four-nation friendly in Spain and showed its competitiveness. They lost to Morocco (1-2), but were evenly matched against Belgium (3-3) and England (1-1).

Speaking at a press conference at the National Football Training Center (NFC) in Paju before departure, Byun said, “I’d be lying if I said there was no pressure, but I’m enjoying it. “We will play our style no matter what opponent we face at the World Cup,” he said, adding, “The outcome is unpredictable. But we will prepare to win. We will try to do better than our best,” making it clear that the quarterfinals are the goal.