Korean women’s soccer finished the game without conceding a goal against North Korea, earning one point. If they win the remaining matches against China, there is a good chance they will advance to the semifinals as first place in their group.
The Korean women’s soccer team, led by coach Colin Bell, drew 0-0 with North Korea in the second match of Group B of the 2024 Paris Olympics women’s soccer second qualifying round held at Xiamengret Stadium in China on the 29th.
The Paris Olympics Asia 2nd qualifying round will be divided into 3 groups of 4 teams, and the top team from each group and the team with the best performance from the 2nd place teams will play in the semifinals. The two countries that win the two semifinal matches will advance to the Olympic finals.
Korea won 10-1 in the second game against Thailand. At that time, Casey and Cheon Garam recorded a hat trick and led the team to a huge victory. North Korea showed off its stable power by defeating the host country, China. Due to gains and losses, it was placed in second place, below Korea. With this draw, the rankings of North Korea and South Korea were maintained, and South Korea maintained its first place.
In other groups, Japan, a strong team, was placed in a group with weak players such as Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and India, and Australia was also in a group with the Philippines, Iran, and Taiwan, and the teams that were relatively likely to advance to the semifinals were already in the lead. However, it was difficult for South Korea to have high hopes of advancing to first place in the group as it was tied into a group with China, which was strong, and North Korea, which was considered the strongest.
In this situation, in order for Belho to advance to the Olympics, it was important to win at least one point in the game against North Korea after winning against Thailand. It was very difficult to guarantee a score as Korean women’s soccer was far behind North Korea in its previous record with 1 win, 3 draws, and 16 losses. However, as South Korea failed to win a medal by losing 1-4 to North Korea in the women’s soccer quarterfinals of the Hangzhou Asian Games on the 30th of last month, this game was also an opportunity to avenge its past defeat. Although South Korea was unable to avenge North Korea with a victory, it increased its chances of advancing to the semifinals by earning one point against the powerful North Korea.
In Korea, Kim Jung-mi was guarding the goal, the defense consisted of Choo Hyo-joo, Shim Seo-yeon, Lee Young-ju, Kim Hye-ri, and Lee Eun-young, and the midfield consisted of Jang Seul-gi, Ji So-yeon, and Jeon Eun-ha. Casey Eugene and Cheon Garam came to the forefront.
For North Korea, Yoo Seon-geum played as goalkeeper. Lee Myeong-geum, Lee Geum-hyang, Lee Jong-geum, and Lee Hye-kyung stood in the back four. In the midfield, Myeong Yu-jeong, Choi Geum-ok, Lee Hak, and Hong Seong-ok worked together, while Kim Gyeong-young and Seung Hyang-sim played as the front two.
North Korea pushed South Korea hard from the beginning of the first half. In the 5th minute of the first half, Kim Kyung-young finished a cross from Lee Myung-geum with a right-footed shot, but it was blocked by the defense. North Korea continued to target the Korean goal with Hong Seong-ok and Lee Jong-geum delivering the ball into the penalty box.
Korea took advantage of the opportunity midway through the first half. In the 36th minute of the first half, Jang Seul-gi and Jeon Eun-ha took the opportunity through a 2-on-1 pass inside the penalty box, but Jang Seul-gi’s last shot was caught by the defense and ended up hitting the side net.
In the 42nd minute of the first half, Garam Cheon took the opportunity through a personal breakthrough. Chun Garam attempted to attack by penetrating from the left side of the penalty box to the center, but the North Korean defense blocked him and committed a foul, giving him a free kick opportunity. Ji So-yeon’s kick, who was the kicker, was blocked by the defensive wall, and Choo Hyo-joo tried to finish it with a cross again, but was blocked by the defense and could not shoot.
North Korea also created a threatening opportunity at the end of the first half. In the extra time of the first half, Seung Hyang-sim caught the ball that bounced after a cross on the right side of the penalty box and attempted to pass it to the center. It could have been threatening if it had connected to Lee Hak in the center, but Shim Seo-yeon blocked it with a tackle. In the end, the first half ended 0-0.
Korea took control of the attack again from the beginning of the second half. In the 2nd minute of the second half, Lee Eun-young advanced to the right outside the penalty box through a pass with Jang Seul-gi, and the cross flew threateningly, but was caught by Yoo Seon-geum.
North Korea also tried to score with a counterattack. In the 5th minute of the second half, when Chun Garam’s attack attempt was cut off in front of the North Korean penalty box, he advanced to the front of the Korean penalty box through passes by Lee Hye-kyung and Lee Hak. Afterwards, North Korea slowly led the attack, and Kim Kyung-young attempted a low, fast mid-range shot, but Kim Jung-mi blocked the ball reliably.
In the 7th minute of the second half, Korea replaced Casey with Son Hwa-yeon and made a change in the offensive zone to score.
The crisis was overcome thanks to Kim Jung-mi’s save. In the 11th minute of the second half, Kim Kyung-young had a chance to shoot from the front of the penalty box arc, and immediately saved the attempted mid-range shot, not allowing a goal.
Korea also counterattacked. In the 17th minute of the second half, Ji So-yeon and Lee Eun-young attempted to enter the North Korean penalty box by linking up on the right side of the North Korean penalty box. Lee Eun-young, who succeeded in breaking through after the throw-in, crossed, but unfortunately it was caught by Lee Hye-kyung.
North Korea’s attack was also blocked by the South Korean defense’s hard-hitting defense. In the 22nd minute of the second half, in a counterattack situation, Shim Seo-yeon blocked Kim Kyung-young’s breakthrough first and blocked the attack. Afterwards, Lee Young-joo blocked North Korea’s pass that entered the penalty box.
In the 24th minute of the second half, Korea removed Jeon Eun-ha and Cheon Gar-ram and replaced them with Lee Geum-min and Kang Chae-rim to open the way for scoring at the end of the second half. North Korea also added strength to the midfield by replacing Ri Hak and inserting Joo Hyo-sim.
Lee Geum-min, who was brought in as a substitute, tried to create an opportunity by directly breaking through. In the 29th minute of the second half, Lee Geum-min broke through the North Korean defense by two people and advanced to the front of the penalty box arc, but at the last moment of breaking through, he was tackled by the defender from behind and was unable to record a shot. In the 35th minute of the second half, after Lee Eun-young’s cross in the penalty box, Son Hwa-yeon caught the ball and attempted a shot, but was immediately caught by Lee Hye-kyung’s leg and could not reach the goal.카지노사이트
North Korea continued to pound the Korean goal with crosses and mid-range shots. In the 36th minute of the second half, Joo Hyo-sim’s cross went towards the goal, but Lee Young-joo cleared it, and Lee Jong-geum finished the bounced ball with a mid-range shot that was caught by Kim Jeong-mi. Afterwards, neither team scored until the end of the second half, and the game ended 0-0.
Meanwhile, after the draw against North Korea, South Korea is scheduled to play the third round of the second preliminary round against China on November 1. Korea’s previous record in women’s soccer A matches against China is lagging behind with 5 wins, 7 draws, and 29 losses, including a draw in the last 9 games (3 draws, 6 losses). The national team, which drew a draw against North Korea, is expected to advance to the semifinals by finishing first in its group if it wins against China.