Guinea open U-20 World Cup campaign with heavy defeat to hosts

Guinea started their FIFA Under-20 World Cup campaign with a comprehensive 3-0 defeat by hosts South Korea in Jeonju on Saturday as they capitulated late in the game.

The opening goal of the match was a fortunate effort from Lee Seung-Woo in the first half, while the hosts also had a second effort chalked-off by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

Barcelona B midfielder Lim Min-hyuk added a second on 76 minutes to seal the three points as Guinea's defence went to sleep, while there was still time for the hosts to grab a third through Seung-ho Paik.

The victory leaves South Korea level with England at the top of the pool, with both sides having won their matches 3-0 on the opening day. England defeated fancied Argentina at the same venue earlier on Saturday. 

Guinea, who finished third at the U-20 Nations Cup in Zambia earlier this year, had their fair share of possession and also more chances on goal. However, they were wayward in their finishing, managing to get just one of their 14 attempts on target in the 90 minutes.

South Korea took the lead on 36 minutes when Seung-Woo's long-range strike took a wicked deflection and beat Guinea goalkeeper Moussa Camara.

The hosts thought they had a second before halftime, but the effort was ruled out after referee Julio Bascuñán consulted the VAR and determined that Seung-Woo, who is nicknamed the 'Korean Messi', had taken the ball out of play in the build-up.

It proved to be the correct call and Guinea survived, but could not profit from the reprieve.

They huffed and puffed their way through the second half, unable to create clear-cut chances and instead were restricted to chances from range.

Min-hyuk doubled the home side's advantage as he beat the offside trap and calmly slotted the ball past Camara.

The home side's brilliant start came to a perfect conclusion when the Guinea defence stood static as the ball came into the box and Paik lifted the ball over the goalkeeper.