Yoo Sang-chul, 2002 World Cup semi-finalist with South Korea, has died

Yoo Sang-chul, who led South Korea to the 2002 World Cup semifinals, died of pancreatic cancer at 49, the South Korean Football Association (KFA) said on Monday. . The former midfielder was a pillar of this selection which took the world by surprise at the World Cup, co-organized by Japan and South Korea, coached by Guus Hiddink.

Yoo had scored against Poland (2-0) to offer his team a first victory in the group stage, before it eliminated Italy (2-1), then Spain on penalties (0 -0.5 tab to 3). South Korea then failed against Germany (0-1) in the semifinals, then against Turkey (2-3) in the match for third place at the World Cup. Yoo has spent the 16 years of his career in Asia, the J-League in Japan, and the K-League in South Korea. Having become a coach, especially for Incheon United in 2019, he had to leave the bench after being diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.