South Korea was placed in the ‘group of death’ that included China and North Korea. The Korean women’s soccer team, which is challenging to advance to the 2024 Paris Olympics, is expected to hold a tough Asian regional qualifier.
The Korean women’s soccer team, led by coach Colin Bell, was placed in Group B as a result of the draw for the 2024 Paris Olympics women’s soccer Asian second qualifying round held at the Asian Football Federation (AFC) House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the 18th (Korean time). South Korea formed a group with China (13th), Thailand (44th) and North Korea.
The group draw was first divided into three pots according to the FIFA women’s soccer rankings. Australia (10th), Japan (11th) and China were assigned pot 1 in the order of the top FIFA rankings. South Korea, ranked 17th, was included in pot 2. North Korea, which is considered the strongest player in women’s football in the AFC, has not had a recent record and has been listed in pot 4.
South Korea had the misfortune of meeting China and North Korea, both tricky opponents.
First of all, Korea is greatly pushed back with 4 wins, 8 draws and 29 losses against pot 1 China. The fact that the second qualifying match is held in China is also a concern. The last time South Korea won in China was the East Asian Cup 1-0 victory held in Wuhan, China in 2015. In the subsequent matches, they are inferior with 3 draws and 6 losses.
Even with North Korea, it is greatly pushed with 1 win, 3 draws and 15 losses, and 2 draws and 10 losses in the last 12 games. The last match was at the East Asian Cup held in Japan six years ago, and was defeated 0-1 at the time.
7 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses against Pot 3 Thailand. However, Thailand is the team with the highest FIFA ranking among the countries in Pot 3. This is why Korea is evaluated as being in the ‘group of death’.스포츠토토
Bell’s second qualifying round for the 2024 Paris Olympics will be held from October 23rd to November 1st. 12 countries will play in the group stage, divided into three groups. The top three countries from each group in the second qualifying round advance to the final round first. Then, among the second-placed countries in the group, one country with the best performance can challenge for the final preliminary round.
In the final qualifier scheduled for February 24 and 28 next year, four countries will be classified into two teams each, and the owners of the two Olympic tickets will be determined through home-and-away matches.
Meanwhile, Korean women’s soccer has never made it to the Olympic finals. Korea played a home-and-away match against China in the final qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics two years ago, and after a 1-2 loss in the first match at home, they took a 2-0 lead in the second match to challenge for their first Olympic berth. However, I have a memory that I failed to keep the lead and failed to advance to the finals after drawing 2-2 after extra time.