The Belles are a team not to be trifled with at the Women’s World Cup in France four years ago.
Head coach Colleen Bell’s women’s national team will take on “favorites” Germany in the final Group H match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia-New Zealand 2023, kicking off at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.
South Korea lost back-to-back games to Colombia (0-2) and Morocco (0-1) in the first and second rounds. Without scoring a single goal, they were ‘blanked’. They made two crucial mistakes in the first game against Colombia, where they had everything to play for, and hung their heads in shame against Morocco, where they failed to register a single shot on target.
They are hoping for a miracle. Their chances of reaching the round of 16, their primary goal, are effectively zero. Sitting at the bottom of the group, South Korea (2 L, 0 D, -3 G) would need to beat Germany (1 L, 1 D, 3 G, +5) by more than five goals and Colombia (2 L, 6 G) to beat Morocco (1 L, 1 D, 3 G, -5 G) to reach the round of 16.
“Even if we had won the first two games, it would have been a difficult game (against Germany),” Bell said, acknowledging the group’s difficulties.
Nevertheless, they need to avoid a sweep. South Korea lost to France, Nigeria, and Norway in the group stage of the 2019 tournament in France. They scored one goal and conceded eight in three games. They expected the fruits of four years of “high-intensity” training, led by the “golden generation” who called for the last dance, but the barriers were still high.
Germany finished second in their group. They got off to a flying start with a six-goal thrashing of Morocco in their first group game, but a late stoppage-time winner in their second game against Colombia resulted in a 1-2 loss.
Germany will be going all out to book their place in the round of 16 on their own, regardless of the outcome of the Colombia-Morocco match on the same day.바카라사이트
One to watch out for is captain and signature striker Alexandra Pope (Wolfsburg Frauen). She won the golden shoe when Ji So-yeon (Suwon FC) won the silver at the 2010 FIFA U-20 World Cup. At Euro 2022, she scored six goals and shared the Golden Boot with Beth Mead (England).
She’s been flying at this tournament, too. Pope is the team’s top scorer, with a multi-goal game against the Mokoro with a header and another against Colombia.
“We’re going to play the best we’ve played in four years,” Bell said. I’ve been coaching for four years and playing for four years before that, and I’ve never gone into a game thinking we’re going to lose,” Bell said, vowing to end the tournament on a high note against Germany.