‘0’ Anpuline Women’s World Cup underdogs Morocco 0-1
The South Korean women’s national soccer team, led by Colleen Bell, suffered back-to-back goalless defeats in the group stage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia-New Zealand 2023. They still have a realistic hope of advancing to the round of 16, but their final group game is against the favorites, Germany. South Korea will need to pull off a miracle against the Germans.
South Korea lost 0-1 to Morocco in the second match of Group H at Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide, Australia on Tuesday (June 30). It was South Korea’s second consecutive defeat, following a 0-2 loss to Colombia on Sept. 25, leaving them at the bottom of the group without a win or a goal.
South Korea were hampered by early concessions. Like Colombia, who collapsed after conceding two goals in the first half, they conceded a header to Ibtisam Jridi in the sixth minute. South Korea continued to attack with Park Eun-sun (Seoul Metropolitan Government), a 6-foot-2 veteran striker up front, but were unable to find the back of the net.
Coach Bell made five substitutions in the second half, including Moon Mi-ra and Jeon Eun-ha (Suwon FC), Choi Yuri (Hyundai Steel), Casey Eugene Fair (PDA), and Chun Gar-ram (Hwacheon KSPO), in an attempt to catch up. However, after conceding early in the game, the team continued to play impatiently. They finished the game without a single shot on goal out of 14 shots.
Morocco, a “World Cup newbie” who was categorized as the weakest team in Group H, was stronger than expected. They were ranked 72nd in the FIFA rankings, well below South Korea (17th), but they showed more grit and skill than expected. Morocco, the first Arab nation from North Africa to play in a World Cup, made South Korea the sacrificial lamb for their first goal and first win.
South Korea’s hopes of advancing to the round of 16 were kept alive when fellow group member Colombia (No. 25) pulled off an upset, beating Germany (No. 2) 2-1 earlier in the day. With no points and a goal difference of -3, South Korea will need to secure a five-goal victory over Germany (3-plus-5) in their third group game next month on March 3. They will then have to hope that Colombia can beat Morocco in their final group game to claim all three points.
South Korea is aiming to reach the round of 16 for the first time in eight years since Canada 2015. However, they were on the verge of a second consecutive group stage defeat following the 2019 tournament in France. The number of countries participating in the tournament has increased from 24 to 32. The standard of women’s soccer in the world is much higher.
“We fought well enough,” Bell said, “but we didn’t show what we were capable of. It’s a shame because the players have been working hard for four years,” Bell said. “This tournament should be a wake-up call for Korean women’s soccer. 먹튀검증 The system, the personnel, and the players all need to change,” he emphasized. “We need to set a clear vision. There are a lot of comparisons to Japan, but Japan has had a clear philosophy for a long time and has a vision for the next 30 years.” “I will make sure that Korean women’s soccer does well. The national team will work together to achieve this goal.”
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