No more bronze medals. The Korean women’s soccer team is preparing for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games with the goal of winning the gold medal.

Until now, women’s soccer has not been able to get past the semifinal stage in the Asian Games. He won the bronze medal for the first time at the 2010 Guangzhou Games and entered the ranks of Asian leaders, but was unable to advance to the finals. Despite steady progress, she has won bronze medals three times in a row, including at Incheon in 2014 and Jakarta-Palembang in 2018, so she is now hoping for even greater heights.

For a while, the momentum shown by women’s soccer was sky-high. By working together with coach Colin Bell for a long period of time, we achieved an increase in power and achieved meaningful achievements. In particular, at last year’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup, they finished second for the first time in history.

Taking advantage of the atmosphere, she showed confidence to take a leap forward at the FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand last summer. The national team was determined to write a new history by going through the high-intensity training ordered by Coach Bell, but due to an unexpected slump, they only completed the group stage and ended the World Cup.

At the World Cup, Korea ranked last in the group with 1 draw and 2 losses. They failed to live up to expectations as they were defeated by Colombia and Morocco, whom they thought they could win. Still, in the final match of the tournament, they achieved a final result by drawing with Germany, who were considered one of the favorites for the championship. They showed their earnestness against Germany and demonstrated their strong will to stand up once again.

This year’s Asian Games is an opportunity to pledge to restore one’s honor. Of course, competition is not easy as Japan, a world leader in women’s soccer, and China and North Korea, which have traditionally shown solidity, are holding out. However, Korean women’s soccer also has a significant status in Asia and boasts a level of competition that is worthy of competing shoulder to shoulder.

The biggest hurdle for the national team aiming for the gold medal is expected to be the quarterfinals. If Korea, which is tied in Group E along with Myanmar, the Philippines, and Hong Kong in this tournament, advances to the quarterfinals as first place, it is highly likely that it will face Japan, which is likely to take first place in Group D. In the unusual format of the group leaders meeting in the first stage of the tournament, Coach Bell said, “I don’t understand why the leaders are meeting each other,” but he is focusing on winning.

Japan is evaluated as being one step ahead of Korea in terms of objective power. They also reached the quarterfinals at the previously held Women’s World Cup. Still, for this tournament, Japan brought out a different squad from the World Cup. There is also an analysis that the team’s strength has become weaker than usual due to the addition of college players, mainly domestic players.

Still, Japan is an opponent that causes tension. Ji So-yeon (Suwon FC) also said, “Because Japan has such a wide base, I think many players have been given the opportunity to experience new things through the Asian Games. Although Japan is said to have lost a lot of overseas players, it is by no means weak. Even if it is only Japanese league players. “I think the power is good,” he said, expressing caution.

As with all Korea-Japan matches, it is a game played with very strong determination, so victory is determined by whether you can show your strengths. Ji So-yeon said, “There is nothing burdensome about meeting Japan. It is more burdensome because we are worried that we will not be able to play well. Even in the World Cup, we were unable to show what we had prepared. Because we were not good enough, we were scolded at the World Cup, but this time, the players were desperate for each game. “I will play well,” he emphasized.토토사이트

Veteran striker Park Eun-seon (Seoul City Hall) also did not hide her confidence, saying, “I heard that the top ranked players in the group will meet in the quarterfinals. We could meet Japan, but I’m not too worried.” Captain Kim Hye-ri was determined to surpass Japan, saying, “This is my fourth time participating in the Asian Games, and I have three bronze medals at home. This time, I will go even higher.”

The women’s national team will soon head to the final battle. Belho, who has been convened and trained at Paju NFC since the 5th, will board a flight to Hangzhou through Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of the 19th. Even after arriving in Hangzhou, she is forced to travel for over 3 hours to Wenzhou, where the group stage is held. The national team, which will take a short break after arriving in China, will play against the Philippines and Hong Kong, starting with Myanmar on the 22nd.