Korean women’s soccer, Paris Olympic finals ‘Cheap Mountain’
Korean women’s football, which is challenging the first Olympic finals in history, has been assigned to the ‘group of death’.
The Korean women’s national soccer team, led by head coach Colin Bell, was placed in Group B along with North Korea, China and Thailand in the draw for the 2024 Paris Olympics held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on the 18th.
The group draw was divided into pots according to the FIFA women’s soccer rankings. Australia, Japan, and China, in order of ranking, were assigned pot 1, and Korea, ranked 17th, was placed in pot 2. North Korea recently put its name on Pot 4 for an official game.
A confrontation between North and South Korea that was absolutely inferior… This time it will be different.
Korea met China, the host of the Group B match, in Pot 1. China ranks 13th in the FIFA rankings, 4 places higher than Korea, but shows an overwhelming advantage against Korea with 29 wins, 8 draws and 4 losses.
I also hoped to avoid North Korea at Port 4, but no luck. Although North Korea does not have a FIFA ranking as it has not recently played in international competitions or official matches, it is a world-class powerhouse in women’s soccer. South Korea also has an absolute inferiority against North Korea with 1 win, 3 draws and 15 losses.
A 1-0 win in the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) Cup in August 2005 is the only victory South Korean women’s football has ever won against North Korea.
Thailand, ranked 44th in the FIFA rankings, is regarded as an opponent that Korea can beat easily, with a record of 7 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. However, Thailand is also the highest ranked team in pot 3. This is why group B is evaluated as the group of death.
In the second qualifying round, the first place in each group advances directly to the final qualifying round, and one team with the best performance among the second-placed countries in the group advances.
To go to the final qualifiers, you must beat China or North Korea and win ‘2nd place in the group’
Group A was assigned Australia, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Iran, while Group C competes with Japan, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, and India. The second round of qualifiers, in which a total of 12 countries will participate, will be held from October 23rd to November 1st this year. The Group A match will be held in Australia, and the Group C match will be held in Uzbekistan.
If they pass the second qualifying round, in the final qualifying round scheduled for February 24 and 28, 2024, the four countries will be divided into two groups to compete for the right to advance to the two Olympic finals given to Asia in a home-and-away fashion.
Korean women’s soccer has never stepped on the stage of the Olympic finals. He advanced to the final qualifying round for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, but was unfortunately eliminated in a home-and-away match against China, losing 1-2 in the first leg at home and drawing 2-2 in the second leg away.
However, this time, thorough preparation was required as they were placed in a more difficult group with the powerhouses of women’s soccer 메이저사이트.