Korea start Asian Cup bid with 3-0 win over Vietnam

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Korea start Asian Cup bid with 3-0 win over Vietnam

Ji So-yun, center, celebrates with Lee Geum-min, right, and Yeo Min-ji after scoring a goal against Vietnam at Shri Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India on Friday. [YONHAP]

Ji So-yun, center, celebrates with Lee Geum-min, right, and Yeo Min-ji after scoring a goal against Vietnam at Shri Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India on Friday. [YONHAP]

 
The Taeguk Ladies are off to a good start on their bid to win their first women's Asian Cup, taking a decisive 3-0 win against Vietnam on Friday.  
 
Korea were on the offensive from the start, with Son Hwa-yeon scoring what would have been the first goal in only the second minute. That effort was ruled offside, but captain Ji So-yun returned one minute later to open the scoring with her 60th goal for the national team.
 
Korea's second goal came just three minutes later when Lee Geum-min headed in a cross from the right side and the ball deflected off the opponent and off the post into the goal. That goal was marked as an own goal.
 
Even though Korea dominated most of the match, the score stayed at 2-0 until the whistle blew for half time. Vietnam put up a harder fight in the second half, and Korea struggled to find clear chances on goal. Choe Yu-ri got in two good shots in the 70th and 73rd minute, but Vietnamese goalkeeper Kim Thanh Tran Thi refused to go down without a fight.
 
Korea's opportunity came in the 75th minute, when Ji earned a penalty kick. Ji took the penalty herself, sending the ball low, past the goalkeeper and into the net, giving Korea a 3-0 lead and also marking her 61st goal on her 132nd appearance for the national team. 
 
The captain's exceptional performance does not come as a surprise, as Ji is Korea's all-time leading goal scorer across men's and women's football. Not only that, but before the match, Ji made it clear that she had her eyes on the prize this year.  
 
"It's my fourth Asian Cup and I am looking forward to it," Ji said in a Thursday pre-tournament press conference. "But we've come here not just to qualify for the World Cup, but to win the competition."
 
Ji So-yun celebrates beating Vietnam 3-0 at Shri Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India on Friday. [YONHAP]

Ji So-yun celebrates beating Vietnam 3-0 at Shri Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India on Friday. [YONHAP]

 
Korea and Vietnam now have faced each other 12 times with Korea winning all 12 matches. Their last match before Friday was on Feb. 9, 2020, with Korea also winning 3-0.  
 
However, just four days before the match on Friday, the Korean national team were hit with a Covid-19 outbreak on Jan. 18, initially announcing that three players and three staff had tested positive with Covid-19. That number has now increased to four players — Yoon Young-geul, Kim Hye-ri and Park Eu-eun and Cho Mi-jin.
 
FIFA rules determine that matches can proceed if more than 13 players on the roster including one goalkeeper are available to play, allowing Korea to play the fixture against Vietnam despite the four missing players.  
 
The starting 11 on Friday were Choo Hyo-joo, Lim Seon-joo, Cho So-hyun, Yeo Min-ji, Ji So-yun, Choe Yu-ri, Lee Geum-min, Jang Sel-gi, Lee Young-ju, Kim Jung-mi and Son Hwa-yeon.
 
Korea now sit in second in Group C after Japan beat Myanmar 5-0 on Friday to take the top spot. To reach the final, Korea face a significant challenge. The Taeguk Ladies are drawn alongside Japan in the group stage and history is not on their side — Korea have only beat Japan four times in 31 games.
 
Korea have historically proven especially unsuccessful at the Asian Cup. In the 19 tournaments to date, Korea have never reached the final, making it to the semifinals in 1995, 2001, 2003 and 2014. The team's best finish was third place in 2003.
 
Korea's next opponent is Myanmar. As Korea expect to play a more difficult game against Japan on Thursday, Korea will be looking to accumulate as many goals against Myanmar as possible.
 
Korea face Myanmar at Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, India at 1 p.m. on Monday, or at 5 p.m. in Korea. 

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]
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