The men's under-23 soccer team on Jan. 26 celebrates its 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the final of the Asian Football Confederation U-23 Championship at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. (Yonhap News)

By Oh Hyun Woo and Kim Hwaya

The men's under-23 soccer team has claimed the 2020 Asian Football Confederation U-23 Championship.

The Taegeuk Warriors on Jan. 26 beat Saudi Arabia in overtime, 1-0, in the final at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Coach Kim Hak-bum, who said, "We will continue running toward our second goal (of winning the championship)" after the semifinal win over Australia on Jan. 22, led Korea to its first title in the tournament. The Taegeuk Warriors won all six games in the competition to lift the trophy.

In July, Korea will compete in its ninth straight men's soccer competition in the Olympics and 11th overall.

On Jan. 28, Kim said in an interview right after returning home, "Our goal is to do better than our finish in 2012," referring to the bronze medal Korea won in London.

"Records are made to be broken so we want to break them," he added, expressing his goal of doing better than a third-place finish in Tokyo.

On the selection of his Olympic squad, Kim said, "All (Korean) players are candidates (for selection to the team)," adding, "Because of so many hardworking players on the U-23 team, I will make my selections after careful consideration."

hyunw54@korea.kr