S. Korea looking to survive in group of death in women’s Olympic football qualifiers

With two of their biggest nemeses on the horizon, South Korea will try to make it out of the proverbial “group of death” in the Asian Olympic women’s football qualifiers starting this week.

Coached by Colin Bell, the South Korean women’s national football team traveled to China on Monday for Group B action in the second round of the regional Olympic qualifying tournament. South Korea will try to make it to the Olympics for the first time.

Ranked 20th in the world, South Korea will face 46th-ranked Thailand on Thursday, unranked North Korea on Sunday and then 15th-ranked China on Nov. 1. All matches will be in Xiamen, China.

North Korea don’t have any ranking position because they haven’t played enough international football in the past three or so years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In their rare international action during the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, earlier this month, North Korea grabbed the silver medal behind Japan, after beating South Korea 4-1 in the quarterfinals.

South Korea have lost 16 out of 20 meetings against North Korea, registering just one win and three draws. The lone South Korean win came in August 2005. Since then, South Korea have had two draws and 11 losses.

Against China, the Taegeuk Ladies have managed just five wins in 41 meetings, with seven draws and 29 losses.

These records don’t bode well for South Korea’s chances at the qualifiers.

The second round features three groups of four nations. The three group winners, plus the best runner-up team, will move on to the third round.

The two winners of the two-legged third round, scheduled for February 2024, will punch their tickets to Paris.

This will be the third major competition for South Korean women’s football this year.

In the summer, South Korea set out to advance to the knockouts for only the second time at the FIFA Women’s World Cup but instead got sent packing from the group stage after one draw and two losses.

A few weeks later at the Asian Games, South Korea failed to reach the semifinals for the first time in 25 years, following that crushing defeat to North Korea.

Another uphill battle awaits Bell, who is signed through December 2024. If South Korea fail to qualify for the Olympics, however, there won’t be much left for Bell to do next year, with no major international events scheduled.

Bell has recruited teen sensation Casey Yujin Phair, born to an American father and a Korean mother, in hopes of earning the historic Olympic berth. Phair, 16, was one of South Korea’s best players at the World Cup.

Bell’s squad, on the other hand, was dealt an injury blow Monday, with veteran forward Choe Yu-ri dropped from the roster after suffering a hamstring tear.

Jung Seol-bin, who has netted 22 goals in 84 appearances, was named as Choe’s replacement.