South Korea defeated the United Arab Emirates 1-0 in its opening group match for the Asian Football Confederation(AFC) U-23 Asian Cup, which doubles as the regional qualifying event for the Paris Olympics.

Team Korea led by head coach Hwang Sun-hong won its first match in Group B on Tuesday at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha, Qatar. Substitute Lee Young-jun headed home the winning goal during added time. 

With the victory, South Korea secured three points, sharing the Group B top spot with Japan, which defeated China with the same score earlier on Tuesday. 

The young Taegeuk Warriors will face off against China on Friday. 

This AFC tournament also serves as the Asian qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics scheduled for this summer. The top three teams from the 16-nation AFC U-23 Asian Cup will secure spots in the Olympics, while the fourth-placed team will play Guinea in an intercontinental playoff.