S. Korea captain Lee Seung-won awarded Bronze Ball at U-20 World Cup

South Korea captain Lee Seung-won was awarded the Bronze Ball at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina on Sunday as the third-best player of the competition.

Lee led South Korea with three goals and four assists, helping the unheralded team finish in fourth place.

Earlier Sunday, South Korea lost to Israel in the third-place match by 3-1, with Lee scoring the team's only goal on a penalty kick.

Lee is the third South Korean to win an individual award at a FIFA men's tournament. Former senior men's team captain Hong Myung-bo received the Bronze Ball at the 2002 World Cup, where South Korea also finished in fourth place. At the 2019 U-20 World Cup, Lee Kang-in won the Golden Ball as the tournament MVP for helping South Korea to the runner-up finish.

Lee Kang-in had two goals and four assists then, and Lee Seung-won surpassed that total to set a new record for a South Korean player at a FIFA men's competition.

On the women's side, Yeo Min-ji grabbed both the Golden Ball and the Golden Shoe as the top scorer while helping South Korea to the U-17 Women's World Cup title in 2010.

In that same year, Ji So-yun captured the Silver Ball and the Silver Shoe, for the second-leading scorer, at the U-20 Women's World Cup.

Lee Seung-won registered a goal and an assist in South Korea's 2-1 win over France to open the group stage. He scored penalty goals in both the third-place match against Israel and the semifinal match last week against Italy.

Uruguay defeated Italy 1-0 for the championship later Sunday, but the Golden Ball went to the Italian midfielder Cesare Casadei, who led the tournament with seven goals. Alan Matturro of Uruguay received the Silver Ball. (Yonhap)