Eom Ji-seong's hat trick powers South Korea to 4-1 rout of Qatar at Nagoya Asian Games

South Korea's under-23 men's football team opened their 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games campaign with a commanding 4-1 victory over Qatar, powered by a hat trick from Eom Ji-seong of Swansea City.

The squad, led by head coach Lee Min-seong, defeated Qatar in the Group D opener at Mizuho Park Rugby Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, on Tuesday, with Eom delivering all three of South Korea's first-half goals.

South Korea, chasing a fourth consecutive Asian Games men's football gold after titles in Incheon in 2014, Jakarta-Palembang in 2018 and Hangzhou in 2023, made a smooth start by claiming all three points.

Starting on the left wing, Eom broke the deadlock just seven minutes into the match, doubled his tally in the 20th minute and completed his hat trick in first-half stoppage time to set South Korea on their way.

The opener came when Kim Ji-su of Brentford launched a long right-footed ball into the danger area, and Eom drove a low left-footed shot into the bottom-right corner.

Eom added his second in the 20th minute, pouncing on a loose ball that drifted between two Qatar center backs.

He completed the hat trick in the 46th minute when Lee Seung-won of Gangwon Province cut the ball from right to left inside the penalty box, and Eom shook off a defender before firing home.

After the break, South Korea went close again — first through Yang Hyeon-jun, who shot after a cutback from Bae Jun-ho of Stoke City in the 52nd minute, and then through Kim Myeong-jun of Genk, who had two attempts in the 56th minute — but neither found the net.

Kim made amends in the 67th minute, converting a through ball from Yang Hyeon-jun to make it 4-0.

South Korea made a triple substitution in the 72nd minute, bringing on Yang Min-hyeok of Beerschot, Kang Sang-yun of North Jeolla Province and Lee Hyeon-ju of Arouca.

Qatar pulled one back through Hassan Marwan in the 85th minute, but South Korea held firm after introducing Park Seung-su of Newcastle United and Choi Woo-jin of North Jeolla Province, closing out a 4-1 win in their tournament opener.

Fifteen nations are competing in the men's football tournament, which begins with a group stage across four pools before moving to a knockout quarterfinal round.

South Korea's next match is against Saudi Arabia on Sept. 22.