U20 Women `Confident of Beating Anyone` in World Cup

The under-20 women’s soccer team will face Germany Thursday in the semifinals of the FIFA U-20 Women`s World Cup in Bochum, Germany.

Korea coach Choi In-cheol said the Korean men`s team lost to Germany in the semifinal of the 2002 World Cup, so his under-20 women seek to avenge that loss on Germany’s home turf.

Germany, which won the 2004 tournament, is second in the FIFA under-20 women`s world rankings. Korea, however, says it is confident of beating any team in this year’s competition.

Choi said his team will have a good game against Germany because its organization continues to improve on top of the players’ high self-confidence.

Ji So-yun is the tournament’s second-leading scorer with six goals in four games, trailing Germany’s Alexandra Popp (seven). Ji expressed her determination to outperform the Germans and win the title.

Korean captain Kim Hye-ri also predicted a 2-0 win for Korea, saying she is confident Ji will score both goals.

The two teams have had an outstanding tournament. Germany has won all of its four games and has outscored its opponents 13-4. Korea is 3-1 in the World Cup by scoring 11 goals and giving up four.

Korea trails Germany in shots 89-60 but has scored in 11 out of 27 shots on goal, compared to Germany’s 13 out of 43 shots on goal. Korea also has a higher ball possession rate (56 percent) than Germany (54 percent).

In May, Germany rolled to a 3-0 win over Korea in an exhibition game. Both teams did not field their best players at the time, however, and Korea’s organization has improved significantly since then.

kimsk@donga.com