The South Korean women's U-17 national team, led by head coach Kim Eun-jung, was completely defeated by Spain, the "defending champion."
The women's U-17 national team lost 0-5 to Spain in the second Group B match of the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup against Spain at 5 a.m. on the 20th (Korea time) at the stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
In the 6th minute of the first half, Korea was blocked by goalkeeper Seo Min-jeong's left footed shot following a pass by Casey Eugene Fair (Angel City). Since then, Spain has staged a fierce counterattack. In the 7th minute of the first half, Pau Comendador scored a header from Celia Segura's cross. While enduring Spain's wave of attacks, another crisis struck in the 32nd minute of the first half. Segura caught Martina Gonzalez's cross that hit No Si-eun (Ulsan Hyundai High School) and shook the net with her right foot. In the extra time of the first half, she even gave up the third goal to Iris Ashley Santiago, ending the first half with a score of 0-3.
In the second half, South Korea fought back, but it was shaken by conceding a penalty two minutes into the second half. Park Ji-yu (Yeseong Girls' Middle School) gave Emma Moreno a penalty kick while trying to tackle, Moreno succeeded and 0-4. In the 45th minute of the second half, Spain's Alba Serato was sent off with a red card for an unreasonable foul of hitting Casey's ankle with a tackle in the box, but lost 0-5 in the extra time of the second half, even giving up a net goal to Ainoa Gomes.
Spain, which beat the U.S. in the first round as the defending champion, was as strong as expected. It recorded 24 shots and 10 shots on target. Korea had three shots and one shot on target. Captain Joo Won-eun, who was eliminated due to an injury every time, was disappointed.
Spain, which beat Korea for two consecutive wins on the day, confirmed its advance to the quarterfinals early on. At the U-17 Women's World Cup, 16 countries will participate in the tournament, with groups of four, and the second-ranked team in each group will advance to the quarterfinals to compete for the championship. Korea, which suffered a loss on the day following a 1-1 draw against Colombia, will be determined whether it will advance to the quarterfinals or not depending on the result of the final group match against the U.S., a strong team, on Sunday.
"Spain is the defending champion, so we expected a difficult game, but it was difficult," coach Kim Eun-jeong said in a broadcast interview after the match. "I regret that I did not have the opportunity to score," she added. "I am not satisfied with my performance, but the players did their best. As the third match against the U.S. is a critical juncture for advancing to the quarterfinals, I will thoroughly prepare for it." 스포츠토토
Coach Kim Eun-jung suffered a father's injury on the 18th, ahead of the match. It was a sad news that came two days before the match against Spain, the tournament to be held in the Dominican Republic. As a full-time leader of women's soccer, he wrote the history of Korean women's soccer's World Cup round of 16 by working as Yoon Deok-yeo-ho's chief coach at the 2015 World Cup in copyright and the 2019 World Cup in France, and Kim, who won a golden ticket to the World Cup in six years by beating powerhouse China at this year's U-17 Women's Asian Cup, led the team resolutely even during the trials. The father, who was more proud of his youngest daughter's soccer than anyone else, and promised to wait for her to return from the World Cup, closed his eyes without seeing his daughter's return. The family sent a message saying, "Mom, sister, and brother will send your father well, so you should do what you have to do for the players and the country." Coach Kim's mother said that her father would support her even in heaven, and that she would pray and cheer for her daughter's game even on her way to the early morning site. For the country and women's soccer, the coach and the player did their best, but there was a big difference in skills. However, there is no giving up. In the final match to be held in Santiago on the 23rd, she will take on the last challenge for the future and hope of Korean women's soccer against the U.S.