Colin Bell calls up Taeguk Ladies for Zambia friendlies

Korean captain Kim Hye-ri reacts during an Arnold Clark Cup game against Belgium at the Coventry Building Society Arena, Coventry, England on Sunday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Head coach Colin Bell has called up the full-strength Taeguk Ladies squad to face Zambia in two friendlies next month.

Star player Ji So-yun, Lee Geum-min and Jang Seul-gi were all called up for the Shinsegae Emart Invitational Women’s National Football Team Friendlies to be held at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on April 7 and Yongin Mir Stadium in Yongin, Gyeonggi on April 11.

The friendly will act as a tune-up game ahead of the 2023 Australia-New Zealand Women’s World Cup this summer.

Korea last month competed in the Arnold Clark Cup in Britain in what was also intended to be both a warm-up for the World Cup and a crucial chance for Korea to see how they actually compare to similarly-ranked European teams.

The results, unfortunately, spoke for themselves.

Korea started off the tournament with what was always going to be a very tough game against hosts England.

The Lionesses, who will arrive in Australia-New Zealand as one of the definite tournament favorites, made short work of the Taeguk Ladies. Korea lost that game 4-0, but were left with two far more interesting fixtures to go.

Belgium, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, also came out on top, winning 2-1 despite an early goal from Brighton & Hove Albion’s Lee Gum-min that briefly put the Taeguk Ladies in front.

Korea then lost 2-1 to Italy in the final game of the tournament to finish in last place.

The one major difference to the squad for the Zambia friendlies is the return of Tottenham Hotspur’s Cho So-hyun, the most-capped player in the history of Korean football, who has been out with an injury for the last few months. Cho attended the Arnold Clark Cup to support the squad, but was excluded from the entry.

Regular starter Lee Min-ah is out with an injury.

Defender Kim Jin-hee of Gyeongju KHNP is the only new addition to the Taeguk Ladies, getting called up for the first time.

Korea will first face Zambia at Suwon World Cup Stadium at 7 p.m. on April 7.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]