Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Coach Jong Song-chon was full of praise for his Korea Republic side as they secured their passage to the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup with a comfortable 4-0 victory over hosts China in the third place play-off of the AFC U-19 Women’s Championship on Saturday.
Having been defeated by Japan in Wednesday’s semi-final, Jong’s team went into the crunch game at the Jiangning Sports Centre Stadium knowing that they would progress to next year's FIFA event in Papua New Guinea should they defeat the hosts, who lost their 2-0 to DPR Korea in the semi-finals.
And after a tense first half, the 2013 winners eventually took the lead following an own goal by Wang Ying, before a brace from Son Hwa-yeon and a lovely curling effort from Jang Chang put the game beyond any doubt as the Koreans advanced to next year's FIFA U20 Women's World Cup while China missed out.
Match Report: Korea Republic 4-0 China
“We had two full days to prepare following the semi-final, and we knew how important it was to win this game,” said Jong, whose team got back to winning ways after successive defeats to DPR Korea and Japan.
“We have qualified for the quarter-finals of the U-20 World Cup in the last three editions so my players were aware about these previous experiences.
“After the Japan match the coaches and players discussed how this was our last opportunity; our tactic going into the game was to attack; we did this which is why we won.
“The players are now really delighted in the dressing room and I want to congratulate them for their efforts.”
Opponents China, meanwhile, will be disappointed with how their continental campaign ended as they missed out on the World Cup opportunity at stake in front of home support.
After starting the tournament with back-to-back wins over Uzbekistan and Australia, the 2006 winners then suffered successive defeats to Japan and DPR Korea in their final group game and semi-final respectively prior to their loss to Korea Republic.
“My players were nervous going into the match as there was a lot of expectation and pressure for them to deal with, but I should take responsibility.” said coach Wang Jun.
“They put in a lot of effort in this tournament and I am very grateful for this. Now we have to look at how we can develop in the future.
“The competition has been an opportunity for us to learn from the other teams; Japan control the ball well, DPR Korea are physically stronger and Korea Republic have so much determination. We can learn both physically and tactically.”