The 2023 Seoul EOU Cup U18 – International Youth Tournament, an eco-friendly soccer tournament that emphasizes global sustainability, kicked off on Tuesday with a match between Vietnam and Morocco.
The tournament is an international competition featuring U-18 teams from South Korea, Ukraine, Morocco, and Vietnam. The four different nations will compete in a full league format over three days on October 10, 12, and 15 at Mokdong Stadium in Seoul.
Both Vietnam and Morocco, who share the same red background with a star in the center, participated in the 토토사이트 Seoul EOU Cup to promote the development of their young players. Morocco’s head coach Mohamed Ouabi and Vietnam’s head coach Hoang Anh Thuan emphasized the importance of the first match at a press conference on the 9th and expressed their ambition to bring home a victory.
Vietnamese coach Hoang Anh Tuan called for a 4-4-2 formation, with the team playing on the counterattack behind the defense. Up front, Nguyen Dang Duong (No. 10) and Nguyen Thang Phuong (No. 6), who was born in 2006 but was named to the Vietnamese squad for the Hangzhou Asian Games, led the attack.
Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouabi opted for an aggressive 4-2-3-1 formation to gain a numerical advantage in attack. The Moroccans were missing Bensad Adnane and Real Madrid Juvenil A’s Lekdim Youssef, but they were up against Vietnam with the speed and skill of Dahak Muad (#7) and Zabiri Yassir (#21) on the flanks.
It was Morocco who took the early lead. After an exploratory first five minutes, Morocco utilized both flanks to attack Vietnam, resulting in the first goal in the 7th minute when Dahak Muad (#7) broke free from a defender on the left flank and crossed for Jabiri Yassir (#21) to finish.
Morocco continued to dominate the rest of the game. In the 15th minute, on a Moroccan counterattack, Dahak Muad (#7) headed home a cross from the right flank himself. Vietnam was unable to mount much of an attack and in the 27th minute, Nguyen Dang Duong (#10) was tripped by the Moroccan defense in the penalty box, but no foul was called.
Morocco did not relinquish the reins of the attack. Mama Otmane (#11) and Jabiri Yassir (#21) scored in the 40th and 45th minutes to extend the lead to 4-0. Jabir Yasir scored his second goal of the game, setting the stage for a possible hat trick.
In the second half, Vietnam went on the offensive. Four minutes into the second half, Vietnam’s Hoang Minh Thien found the back of the Moroccan net, but the goal was called back for offside. After that, both teams went into a lull. Vietnam did not miss a single attacking opportunity. In the 22nd minute of the second half, Jabir Yasir (No. 21) completed his hat-trick, increasing the gap to 5-0. No further goals were scored and the game ended 5-0.
A press conference was held after the game. Vietnam head coach Hoang Anh Thuan said, “Morocco was on a different level than us. I think the players were still a little nervous because it was their first match of the tournament. We will try to improve our performance in the upcoming matches against Ukraine and South Korea.”
Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouhabi added: “I’m happy to score a lot of goals and win. We had a difficult start to the game, but I think the goals lifted the team’s morale a lot. It was a hard-fought match and we will do our best in the remaining two matches,” he said.
Vietnam U18 head coach Anh Tuan said, “First of all, I would like to thank the organizers for organizing such a meaningful tournament and inviting us. “We don’t have many opportunities to play against foreign countries like this tournament, and I think it will be a good opportunity for our players to grow and develop to the next level,” he added.
The name of the tournament, EOU, stands for “EARTH ON US,” which means “Earth and Community. With the slogan “ALL LIFE ON EARTH DEPENDS ON US,” the tournament aims to promote the importance of a sustainable planet through soccer. The World Wide Fund for Nature, WWF, will be on hand to encourage the use of public transportation and multi-use containers, and various activities such as environmental donation campaigns will be held at the tournament site.
The Seoul EOU Cup is co-organized by the Seoul Football Association and the Korea Sports Agents Association, co-organized by the Seoul Sports Federation and the Korea Sports Agents Association, and sponsored by Seoul Metropolitan Government, Shinhan Bank, Hyundai Motor Company, Adidas, ECHWai (hy), the Korea Sports Promotion Agency, and Righteous Seoul Hospital, with WWF Korea as a partner.