Ahead of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, the Korean men’s soccer team had a series of evaluation matches against strong teams. Guus Hiddink (77, Netherlands), the national team coach at the time, went ahead with the schedule despite concerns about whether it was necessary to meet a strong team and face the tournament in a gloomy atmosphere when the final match was just around the corner. The results were astonishing. The national team met Scotland, England and France in turn and showed more than expected. They won 4-1 over Scotland and drew 1-1 with England. They lost 2-3 to the ‘defending champion’ France, but were not pushed back in terms of content. The national team faced the tournament with confidence and created the miracle of advancing to the semifinals of the World Cup.
At the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the women’s national soccer team looking forward to the round of 16 or higher chose a tough road like them then.
The national team, led by coach Colin Bell (62, England), will participate in the Arnold Clark Cup, a friendly women’s national soccer team sponsored by the England Football Association. In the second round of the tournament, the national team will play its first match against defending champion England on the 17th. The national team will then meet with Belgium on the 20th and then face Italy on the 23rd. All of them are opponents who play thick soccer with superior physical conditions to the national team.
In particular, England’s power is considered to be the strongest in the world. England, which ranks fourth in the FIFA rankings, is on the rise to record 26 undefeated matches since coach Sarina Wichmann (54, Netherlands) took the helm in September 2021. England won the 2022 European Women’s Championship (Euro) in July last year, and is considered a strong candidate for the championship along with the United States in this World Cup.
Bell is confident that the Arnold Clark Cup will be a good experience ahead of the World Cup. Coach Bell said, “There are easy ways, but I entered the tournament to prepare for the match against Germany, which belongs to the same group, as well as the European team that I will meet in the final tournament.” did. Then, she said, “You have to be able to show organization and pressure against a strong team,” and “I’ll see if young players can give 100% performance especially.” 스포츠토토
It is evaluated that this team has achieved harmony between old and new. Ji So-yeon (32, Suwon FC), the representative of the national team, returned, and Lee Geum-min (29) and Park Ye-eun (27), who are active side by side in Brighton, England, joined the national team and formed a solid camp. In addition, Chun Ga-ram (21, Ulsan College of Science), who is emerging as a rising star in women’s soccer, joined the team and completed the transfusion of young blood. The national team, which started its first convocation training in Ulsan on the 30th of last month, moved to England on the 10th and is calmly reorganizing itself. Jang Seul-gi (29, Hyundai Steel) said, “We are in a position to take on challenges, but we will show a confident image without being intimidated.” hoped that Lee Geum-min also emphasized, “I look forward to the England game to be played in full crowds.”
Meanwhile, at the World Cup, which opens on July 20, the national team in Group H will compete against Germany, Morocco and Colombia for a ticket to the round of 16. The team’s best performance was the round of 16 at the 2015 World Cup in Canada.