# "We're ready to play aggressively" says Byun ahead of U-17 World Cup

9 p.m. on Dec. 12 vs. the U.S.

[Byun Sung-hwan](https://www.patreon.com/posts/no-1-overall-jun-89864148), the head coach of the South Korea men's national under-17 soccer team, is ready for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The team will face the United States at 9 p.m. ET on June 12 at the Jakarta International Stadium in Indonesia.

"Before I talk about our team, I would like to congratulate the Indonesian team for participating in their first World Cup, scoring in their first game, and earning a point," Byun said through the Korea Football Association. We will play an aggressive game with the same concept we have been working on," he said ahead of the first match.

Byun's first opponent, the United States, qualified for the World Cup by finishing runner-up to host Mexico at the North American U-17 Championship in February. This will be the [18th U-17 World Cup](https://wiki.fablabbcn.org/User_talk:19guide034) for the United States.

Their best-ever finish was fourth in 1999 in New Zealand, and they were eliminated in the group stage at the last tournament in Brazil 2019. They last met South Korea at the 2003 tournament in Finland, where a hat trick from then-14-year-old prospect Freddie Adu led the Americans to a 6-1 victory.

Costa Rican coach Gonzalo Segares is a former Major League Soccer (MLS) player who has been coaching the U.S. age-group national team since 2020. Key players include Keirol Figueroa, a former Liverpool youth team player who scored seven goals in seven games at the North American U-17 Championship, and Paulo Rudisil, an attacking midfielder who recently joined Feyenoord from LA Galaxy.

"I know that the U.S. coach is from Costa Rica, and like FC Barcelona (Spain), he likes to press from high areas and create chances through build-ups," Byun said. "We play a similar style of soccer, so I think the result of tomorrow's match will show which team is the better, higher-quality team."

Captain [Kim Myung-jun](https://images.google.ge/url?q=http%3A%2F%2F19guide03.com%2F) (Pohang Steelers U-18) said, "I'm excited for the first game. We have prepared a lot, and we want to bring home a good result." "I don't think there are any weak teams in the World Cup. We won't take any team for granted and will play our best in every match."

In Group E, Byun Sung-hwan will face France on the 15th after the USA game. Games 1 and 2 will be held in Jakarta, with the final match against Burkina Faso on Sept. 18 in Bandung.

This will be South Korea's seventh appearance at the U-17 World Cup, and their best finish at the tournament has been the quarterfinals, which they have achieved three times in 1987, 2009, and 2019. This year, the team will head to Indonesia with the goal of advancing beyond the quarterfinals. [19가이드03](https://www.19guide03.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=casinosite)