Ji So-yeon and Cho So-hyun played their first A-match together ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, helping South Korea to an upset victory over Colleen Belhoeven.
South Korea defeated Haiti 2-1 in a women’s national team friendly at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Monday.
South Korea’s center backs were Cho So-hyun, Ji So-yeon, and Lee Keum-min. It’s been a while since the two stars of the South Korean women’s national soccer team, Cho So-hyun and Ji So-yeon, have played together. Both players have been injured recently and have taken turns missing A matches. Cho has been out of the national team for an extended period of time due to injury. She left the team after the EAFF E-1 Championship in July last year and didn’t return until the Arnold Clarke Cup earlier this year.
Cho returned to the national team for a two-game series against Zambia in April, when Ji So-yeon was unavailable. She injured her ankle playing for her club shortly before her call-up and missed both games. Ji-So-yeon and Cho So-hyun played together for the first time since the E-1 Championship against China.
They struggled in the first half. They struggled in the midfield as their opponents tried to attack strongly. They conceded the first goal in the 15th minute. Head coach Colin Bell then moved wingback Chu Hyo-Joo to defensive midfield to help contain opposing attacking midfielder Melsi Dumone. With Chu Hyo-Joo behind her, Cho So-Hyun and Ji So-Yeon were able to move more freely. South Korea’s performance improved from there.
Ji So-yeon and Cho So-hyun combined for a goal early in the second half to put South Korea back in the game. In the third minute of the second half, Cho was tripped up by Haiti’s Charlie Gyndy while trying to break through inside the penalty box. The referee awarded a penalty kick, and Ji So-yeon stepped up to take the spot kick and found the left corner of the goal to tie the game. 메이저사이트
Ji scored the game-winning goal late in the second half. In the 38th minute, South Korea earned a free kick on the far left side of the field. Kicker Ji So-yeon sent a pass to Jang Seul-ki, who was unmarked outside the penalty box. Jang Seul-ki hit a shot from long range that went into the back of the net.
Cho So-hyun and Ji So-yeon are living legends who are rewriting the history of Korean soccer. The match against Haiti was their 145th career A-match. That’s more than any other player on the South Korean men’s or women’s national teams. They have surpassed the previous record of 136 games played by Cha Bum-geun and Hong Myung-bo, the two players with the most men’s A-Match appearances.
The two players are also preparing for their third World Cup together. Cha made her first appearance at the 2015 World Cup in Canada, where she helped the Korean Women’s National Team reach the round of 16 for the first time, and will be back at the 2019 World Cup in France.