Women’s soccer team to compete with N. Korea at East Asian Cup

While Chinese men’s soccer team has "fear of Korea," South Korean women’s soccer team has "fear of North Korea."

South Korean women’s soccer team had its first showdown with North Korea at the Beijing Asian Games in September 1990. The South suffered crushing defeat of 0-7. Including this match, the South has had one win, one draw and 13 losses in the 15 games over the past 25 years. The only match it won was a game at the East Asian Cup, which was held in South Korea on August 4, 2005.

At that time, the South that was ranking 28th in the FIFA rankings beat 1-0 the North, which ranked seventh, due to the finishing goal scored by Park Eun-jeong. Two days later, the team had 0-0 draw against Japan, and became the first champion of the women’s championship with 2 wins and one draw overall. At the time, the North became the runner-up with two wins and one loss, as the South and North Korean teams won the top and second prizes, respectively. At the time, the goalkeeper’s prize went to Kim Jeong-mi (31), who continues to serve as the South Korean team’s starting goalie.

The South Korean team garnered a win at the home turf for the first time in 15 years after the first showdown with the North, but the former continued to be lagging behind the latter. It lost all of the eight games it played with the North. However, the South displayed fairly impressive plays nonetheless. The South was defeated by a one-goal gap in all four matches that were held since losing 1-3 to the North at the semifinal match at the Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010. At the semifinal match held at the Incheon Asian Games last year, the South allowed an additional goal in the second half, and narrowly lost the game 1-2.

South Korea (ranking 17th) will face off North Korea (ranking eighth) at the third match of the East Asia Cup, which takes place in Wuhan, China on Saturday. If the South wins, it will come to win over the North for the first time in 10 years, and regain the top place at the East Asian Cup in a decade.

The two Koreas have posted two wins, but the North with plus three goals is leading the South (plus two goals) in difference in overall goal tally. “North Korea has strong physical stamina. Fortunately, we have a three-day rest and a sufficient time to recover. We will exert our utmost efforts,” The South Korean team’s coach Yoon Deok-yeo said. "We will have to play the match to see the outcome, but we are confident,” North Korea’s coach Kim Kwang-min, who also managed the North at the East Asian Cup in 2005.

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