Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Kuala Lumpur: Taking top honours at the 2013 AFC Women’s U-19 Women’s Championship has earned Korea Republic the AFC Women’s Team of the Year award.
A 2-2 draw with hosts China set the Korean girls on the road to glory before Jong Song-chon’s side smashed seven past qualifiers Myanmar, with five of the goals coming from eventual Top Scorer and tournament MVP Jang Sel-gi.
Inspired by the heroics of goalkeeper Yuk Ye-ong and two goals in the space of two second-half minutes the Koreans picked up their second win of the campaign with a 2-0 win over Japan and after edging neighbours DPR Korea 2-1 they defeated Australia by an identical score line to finish top of the table in the six-team round robin tournament.
The first time we won this championship was in 2004. It’s been nine years and so our winning the competition this year means a lot to Korean women’s football,” said Korea Republic Women’s U-19 head coach Jong Sung-chon after collecting the 2013 AFC Women’s National Team of the Year award from Moya Dodd, AFC Vice President and Chairwoman of the AFC Women’s Committee.
“This award shows that we have been developing the game pretty well and that we have good prospects to develop our game further in the future.
“It also spurs us to be better prepared for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada this year and I hope we’ll put up a good performance there.”