Women’s World Cup 2023: Korea Republic in-depth team guide and prediction

Here’s your guide to the Korea Republic side at the Women’s World Cup 2023. This article is part of a collaboration with the Guardian along with leading newspapers from each of the participating countries at the tournament.

Korea Republic team guide written by Rachel Hur for Sports Donga.

Overview

Since Colin Bell’s appointment as manager after the 2019 World Cup, Korea Republic have demonstrated more aggression and intensity in their game. Bell led the team to the final of the 2022 Asian Cup in India, where they lost 3-2 to China. Reaching the semi-finals meant South Korea sealed their place at the World Cup. “I believe that the team has definitely improved from that Asian Cup,” Bell told fifa.com. “On a good day, we are capable of beating anyone.”

This year’s tournament will be Korea’s third consecutive World Cup and the Taegeuk Ladies are determined to improve on their results four years ago in France, where they went out in the group stages after losing three out of three.

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Striker Lee Geum-min, who plays for Brighton, recently explained how Bell helped the team improve since his arrival. “He is very passionate. He changed our team a lot,” she told fifa.com “Being from England, he adapted to a new culture and new environment. He respects Korea Republic very much. He has tried to adapt to our culture. He is very energetic. He respects the way we used to train and trains our team to be competitive.”

The former Chelsea midfielder Ji So-yun agrees that the team has grown in confidence since Bell took over and is hungry for success, in what she feels will be her last World Cup. “We are prepared to show that we are a much stronger side than what we used to be,” she said. “We have grown as a group and gained more experience so I’m sure we can compete.”

The coach

Colin Bell became the first foreign coach to take charge of the Korean women’s team back in October 2019. His main football philosophy is high intensity, which he adopts even in training sessions. The English coach won the Uefa Women’s Champions League with Frankfurt in 2015, managed the Republic of Ireland women’s team from 2017 to 2019, and was assistant head coach of Huddersfield Town before taking the Korea job. He actively continues to learn the Korean language and has even conducted some of his recent press conferences in Korean.

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Star player

Ji So-yun was the nation’s youngest ever player, making her debut aged 15 in 2006, and has gone on to become Korea’s all-time top scorer, overtaking men’s football legend Cha Bum-kun. She is nicknamed “Ji Messi’' for her technical ability and moments of brilliance. Ji is a seven-time winner of the KFA Player of the Year award and became the first South Korean in England’s WSL when she joined Chelsea in 2015. Ji made the PFA WSL Team of the Year five times and won 11 trophies with London club.

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Rising Star

Born to an American father and South Korean mother, Casey Phair is the national side’s first mixed-race player. Aged just 16 – and 15 when first called into the senior set-up – she was a surprise pick for this tournament but clearly has a huge future. “She’s selected because I think she can help the team now, like every other player,” Bell said. “She is going not as a passenger but as a valuable member of the squad.”

Did you know?

Many players have popular nicknames according to their position or playing styles. The most well known is “Ji Messi” for Ji So-yun, whilst Cho So-hyun has been nicknamed “Chottuso” after former Italy midfielder Gennaro Gattuso, and Kang Chae-rim has been called “Rimbappé” after France striker Kylian Mbappé.

Standing of women’s football in South Korea

A 2021 reality TV show featuring female celebrities learning to play football called “Kick a Goal” gained popularity nationwide. Many sports stars, including legends of the men’s game, have made appearances to promote the women’s game. WK League match attendance has continued to rise over the past year and after signing Ji So-yun from Chelsea in 2022, Suwon FC Women became the first WK League club to charge for matchday tickets.

Realistic goal

The main aim for South Korea would have to be at least qualifying for the knockout phase. After three losses in the group stage in France four years ago, the team is determined to recreate the joys of the 2015 World Cup, when they came from behind to beat Spain and reach the last 16.