The Korean women’s soccer team was completely defeated by England, fourth in the FIFA rankings, ahead of the World Cup, realizing the gap with the world’s strongest players.
The women’s national soccer team, led by head coach Colin Bell, lost 0-4 to England in the first leg of the 2023 Arnold Clark Cup held at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, England on the 17th (Korean time).
Ahead of the 2023 Australia-New Zealand Women’s World Cup to be held in July, the national team participated in the Arnold Clark Cup, an international friendly competition hosted by the England Football Association.
The national team, whose key players, including Ji So-yeon (Suwon FC), were unable to come forward due to injuries, struggled against England, the 2022 European Championship champion, a strong team 11 steps higher in the FIFA rankings.
While four countries, including Korea, England, Italy, and Belgium, played a full league to determine the winning team, the three countries except Belgium were스포츠토토 participating in the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, giving Belho a chance to strengthen their strength and gain experience.
Korea will play the second match against Belgium at 3:15 am on the 20th and the third match against Italy at 1:45 on the 23rd. Korea has recorded 14 wins, 7 draws and 7 losses since Bell took over.
In Korea, Son Hwa-yeon, Choi Yu-ri, and Kang Chae-rim (above Hyundai Steel) were responsible for Korea’s offense, while Lee Geum-min (Brighton) and Kim Yun-ji (Suwon FC) stood in the midfield.
With a three-back defensive line close to back five in operation, Jang Seul-gi (Hyundai Steel) and Chu Hyo-joo (Suwon FC) stood out as left and right wingbacks, and Kim Hye-ri, Lim Seon-joo, and Hong Hye-ji (above Hyundai Steel) formed the central defense. The goalkeeper gloves were worn by “veteran” Kim Jeong-mi (Hyundai Steel).
Lim Seon-joo played 100 of his A matches from his debut match against Northern Mariana in August 2009 to this day, becoming the 6th Korean player to join the ‘Century Club’.
‘Ace’ Ji So-yeon, who suffered an ankle injury, kept the bench because her physical condition was not perfect. In addition, players who had been in charge of the midfield, such as Cho So-hyun (Tottenham), Lee Young-joo (Madrid CFF), and Lee Min-ah (Hyundai Steel), could not even join the national team due to injuries, so Korea had to play a difficult game.
Cho So-hyun, who plays on the English stage, cheered on her teammates from the stands.
On the other hand, in England, five of the players who started in the European championship final against Germany in July last year made the start that day. Backed by the one-sided support of the home crowd, England drove hard from the first half, but Korea held up well with a solid defense.
However, the cracks started to go away from the end of the first half. Georgia Stanway’s header landed in the upper net in the 30th minute of the first half, and Alessia Russo’s mid-range shot hit the post in the 38th minute.
Korea eventually conceded the first goal through Stanway’s penalty kick in the 40th minute of the first half. Previously, Jang Seul-gi committed a foul on Lauren James who was breaking through in the penalty area.
In the first minute of the second half, Korea conceded an additional goal before reorganizing the front line. Chloe Kelly’s shot from the left side of the penalty kick hit Geum-Min Lee’s foot and was deflected into the net.
In the 5th minute of the second half, Russo stepped in to Alex Greenwood’s cross from the left and made it 3-0. Korea was pushed back unilaterally, but in the 23rd minute of the second half, Sohn Hwa-yeon’s bold mid-range shot aimed to make up for the goal, but in the 33rd minute of the second half, James conceded another goal with a shot from the front of the goal area.