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This file photo shows the South Korean women's national team players ahead of practice at Mipo Stadium in Ulsan, 415 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Korea Football Association) |
The South Korean squad for the upcoming qualifiers for Asia's top women's football tournament was unveiled Tuesday, highlighted by a trio of veterans plying their trade in England.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced a 23-player squad for head coach Colin Bell ahead of the qualifying tournament for the 2022 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup.
South Korea will be in Group E against Mongolia and Uzbekistan, and only the winner of the group will reach the Women's Asian Cup. The quadrennial Asian Cup will double as the Asian qualifying tournament for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
All Group E matches will be played at Pakhtakor Stadium in Tashkent. South Korea, world No. 18, will first take on the 125th-ranked Mongolia at 4 p.m. on Sept. 17, or 8 p.m. the same night (Seoul time). The match against No. 43 Uzbekistan will be 4 p.m. local time (8 p.m. in South Korea) on Sept. 23.
The South Korean team features Chelsea FC Women star Ji So-yun, Tottenham Hotspur FC Women midfielder Cho So-hyun, and Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Lee Geum-min. Cho and Ji are 1-2 in all-time caps among South Korean female players with 127 and 125 international appearances, respectively.
Other usual suspects include midfielders Lee Min-a (62 caps) and Yeo Min-ji (44 caps).
South Korea have never faced Mongolia before. The Taeguk Ladies have won both of their previous matches against Uzbekistan, but their most recent meeting came in 2017. (Yonhap)
