Korea need an early win in World Cup opener against Colombia

Korea will start their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup journey on Tuesday, with their first group stage game against Colombia at Sydney Football Stadium in Moore Park just outside Sydney.

Korean women's team manager Colin Bell talks to his squad during training at Campbelltown Sports Stadium outside Sydney, Australia on Sunday. [YONHAP]

Korea will start their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup journey on Tuesday, with their first group stage game against Colombia at Sydney Football Stadium in Moore Park just outside Sydney.

Korea’s squad includes the likes of Ji So-yun and Cho So-hyun, who share the record for the most caps in national team history, with 145 each, alongside veterans like forward Park Eun-sun, goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi and regular captain Kim Hye-ri.

These players, the backbone of Korea's so-called golden generation, are all aware that this could be their last World Cup, and arrived in Australia with one goal in mind: Reaching the quarterfinals for the first time ever.

The five will likely start against Colombia alongside regular picks like midfielder Lee Geum-min and utility player Jang Sel-gi, who have shown a good performance in the recent friendlies.

Lee scored a hat-trick during a friendly with Zambia on April 11, while Jang managed the winner against Haiti in Korea’s 2-1 win on July 8.

Captain Kim will undoubtedly be in action too. Manager Colin Bell is unlikely to pick 16-year-old Casey Yujin Phair to start, but if she does make it off the bench she will become the first-ever half Korean and the youngest ever player to compete for Korea at the World Cup.

Clockwise from top left: Captain Kim Hye-ri, Ji So-yun, Casey Yujin Phair and Cho So-hyun. [KFA]

Bell goes into the first game with the team in good form, having managed wins in all three friendlies since April — 5-2 and 5-0 wins against Zambia in April and a 2-1 victory over Haiti on July 8.

The match against Colombia will be tough as the Colombian players have a robust physique and play aggressively. Korea struggled against Haiti during a friendly on July 8 despite the win, as they also had strong physique and played at a fast pace.

Colombia’s aggressive tiki-taka style of football is what Korea need to look out for. They played so aggressively against Ireland in a friendly on July 14 that Ireland ended up canceling the match in the middle of the game.

“I was really surprised that Ireland canceled the match in just 20 minutes, even though they are an aggressive team too,” Ji said after training on Saturday. “Colombia will give us trouble and we should be prepared to be troubled. We will also counter that since we have no room to back up.”

One thing that has improved under Bell is stamina, which could be the key to the team beating Colombia.

The Taeguk Ladies conceded a goal first against Haiti in the early minutes of the game, but grabbed the victory after showing resilience backed by stamina in the second half.

“We first have to withstand the opponent’s attacks and then gradually and meticulously target the opponent when their stamina drops,” Ji said.

A victory against Colombia is crucial, as a loss in the first match will put extra pressure on Korea who later have to face Morocco and Germany in the group stage.

Morocco — ranked at No. 72 on the FIFA ranking — may not be the strongest opponent, but No. 2 Germany are one of the tournament favorites.

Colombia arrive at this year’s World Cup in outstanding form as they also look to reach the quarterfinals for the first time, having qualified for the tournament after finishing last year’s Copa America as runners-up.

The squad includes a mix of young talent like Real Madrid’s Linda Caicedo in addition to such veterans as Daniela Montoya and Catalina Usme.

This year’s World Cup is a chance for both countries to redeem themselves from the previous competition. Korea suffered three straight losses in the group stage, while Colombia failed to qualify for the tournament.

Korea’s game against Colombia kicks off at 12 p.m. in Australia, or 11 a.m. Korea time, and will be broadcast here on KBS, SBS and MBC.

The second group stage match against Morocco is on Sunday, with the game against Germany on Aug. 3.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]