South Korea fell to Italy in the semi-finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina on Thursday.

Team Korea, led by manager Kim Eun-jung, lost 2-1 at La Plata Stadium.

Italy’s Cesare Casadei scored an opener in the 14th minute before South Korean captain Lee Seung-won equalized on a penalty nine minutes later, but Simone Pafundi netted the winner with a free kick deep into the second half.

The team will face Israel in the third-place match, also in La Plata, at 2:30 a.m. on Monday, Korea time.

The side finished as runners-up to Ukraine at the U-20 World Cup in 2019, the most recent edition with the cancellation in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to achieve the best result for any men’s team in a FIFA tournament, while the U-17 women’s team won the 2010 World Cup.