Women’s soccer’s No. 7 Son Hwa-yeon (Hyundai Steel) scored a hat trick. Colleen Belho also scored to advance to the quarterfinals.
The Korean women’s national football team earned a 5-1 victory over the Philippines in their Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games Group E match on Friday at the Yunzhou Sports Center Stadium in Zhejiang, China.
It was the second straight win for South Korea, which defeated Myanmar 3-0 on Aug. 22. They will finish first in the group regardless of the outcome against Hong Kong 바카라사이트(2 losses) on Aug. 28.
If South Korea loses to Hong Kong and either the Philippines or Myanmar wins to go 2-1, South Korea will still finish ahead on the winner’s tiebreaker.
South Korea will face the winner of Group C or the second-place finisher from Group D in the quarterfinals. Group C includes North Korea, Singapore, and Cambodia. North Korea is the favorite to finish first in Group C. A North-South matchup is possible in the quarterfinals.
Group D contains Japan, Vietnam, Nepal, and Bangladesh. If the quarterfinal opponent comes from Group D, it will likely be Vietnam, which is a favorite to finish second.
Women’s soccer will be looking to win their first ever Asian Games gold medal at the tournament. They won bronze at Guangzhou 2010, Incheon 2014 and Jakarta-Palembang 2018.
The Korean women’s soccer team. /Photo courtesy of the Korean Football Association
Women’s soccer starting lineup. /Photo via Korea Football Association social media
In addition to goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi (Hyundai Steel), Choo Hyo-joo, Shim Seo-yeon, Ji So-yeon (Suwon FC), Son Hwa-yeon, Lee Min-ah, Ji So-yeon, Choi Yoo-ri, Jang Seul-ki, Kim Hye-ri (Hyundai Steel), Lee Eun-young (Korea University), and Chun Gar-ram (KSPO) started the match.
Ji So-yeon made her debut for the South Korean women’s national soccer team, reaching 150 A-match appearances 17 years after her debut.
Son Hwa-yeon (second from left) celebrates her goal. /Photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association
Son Hwa-yeon. /Photo: Korea Football Association social media
South Korea conceded an early goal to Isabel Bolden of the Philippines in the eighth minute, but Chun Garam scored her A-Match debut in the 12th minute to tie the game at 1-1.
The team continued to build on the momentum and took a 2-1 lead in the 44th minute with a goal from Son Hwa-yeon.
Ji So-yeon. /Photo=Korea Football Association SNS
Son Hwa-yeon (center 7) celebrates her goal. /Photo: Courtesy of the Korea Football Association
South Korea’s offense exploded in the second half. Seven minutes into the second half, Ji So-yeon celebrated her 150th appearance with a penalty kick goal.
Choi Yoo-ri (center) on the attack. /Photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association
Chun Gar-ram scores his debut goal in the A-Match. /Photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association
Son Hwa-yeon completed her hat trick with goals in the 11th and 25th minutes of the second half. With a 5-1 lead, Korea held on for a comfortable victory without conceding another goal.
Groupings for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. /Photo=Korea Football Association social media