The South Korean women’s soccer team held North Korea scoreless for the first time in a long time.
South Korea and North Korea played to a 0-0 draw in Group B of the women’s soccer second qualifying round for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Monday (Sept. 29) at Iglet Stadium in Xiamen, China.
It was South Korea’s first match against North Korea in about a month. South Korea faced North Korea in the women’s soccer quarterfinals at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games on March 29, and it was a tough matchup in more ways than one. North Korea had only played two games in the group stage due to the absence of Cambodia and entered the quarterfinals with one more day of rest than South Korea. South Korea, on the other hand, had played all three games and had to play with only one day’s rest.
Nevertheless, South Korea matched up well against North Korea, but a sending-off changed the game. With the score tied at 1-1, Son Hwa-yeon was sent off in the 41st minute for a rather unfortunate decision. Still, South Korea, who had exerted more physicality during the group stage, managed to hold on despite being outnumbered, but conceded three goals in the final minutes of the match. The loss ended their Asian Games campaign without a medal after four events.
A month later, South Korea and North Korea met again in China, this time under similar conditions. On the 26th, South Korea played Thailand and North Korea played China side-by-side in the first round, and they met in the second round on the 29th. There were no sending-offs in this game.
North Korea came out with the same 4-4-2 formation, but South Korea made a few changes to their lineup from the last meeting. Instead of Kang Chae-rim, the striker who started the first game, South Korea played a three-back with Lee Young-joo. Shim Seo-yeon, Lee Young-joo, and Kim Hye-ri were deployed at the back to bolster the defense, while young strikers Chun Garam and Casey Paire were used up front.
North Korea threatened on several occasions until midway through the first half, but South Korea did not concede a goal. Goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi made a few saves to keep South Korea in the game. From then on, South Korea did more than just hold on, they were looking to score at every opportunity. In the second half, the team made some aggressive substitutions in order to secure the win. Son Hwa-yeon, Kang Chae-rim, and Lee Keum-min came on in quick succession, and in the 42nd minute, forward Moon Mi-ra came on for wingback Lee Eun-young.
In the end, they were unable to score, but they finished the game without conceding a goal. This is only the second time the South Korean women’s soccer team has kept a clean sheet against North Korea, a team they are heavily outmatched against. The first and last time was in a 1-0 East Asian Confederation Cup victory in August 2005. They have conceded 52 goals in the other 19 matches, which have resulted in three draws and 16 losses. 카지노사이트
With the valuable draw, South Korea can at least keep the positive momentum going for the final Olympic qualifier ahead of their third-place match against powerhouse China. They top the group with one win and one draw thanks to a 10-1 thrashing of Thailand in the first round. North Korea, who beat China 2-1 in the first round, is second in the group. In the second Asian qualifier for the Paris Olympics, one team from each of the three groups will advance to the final qualifier with the best record.