Korea overcome early wobble to beat Zambia 5-2

Cho So-hyun, right, scores a goal in a friendly with Zambia at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Friday. [NEWS1]

The Korean women’s national football team thrashed Zambia 5-2 on Friday, displaying improvements in their performance ahead of the upcoming Australia-New Zealand Women’s World Cup in July.

The friendly at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi was the Taeguk Ladies’ first match since the Arnold Clark Cup in February, where Korea conceded three straight losses to England, Belgium and Italy.

The Taeguk Ladies started the game with the best possible squad, including long-time star players Jang Seul-gi, Lee Geum-min and Cho So-hyun.

The one notable absence was Ji So-yun, the most experienced player with 144 caps and Korea's top goal scorer of all time regardless of gender or competition, who was excluded from the roster due to an ankle injury.

Korea went on the offensive from the start. Cho So-hyun, the second most-capped player ever, was a key figure as she led both the attack and defense in the early minutes of the first half.

The veteran midfielder held her side’s defense firm and even opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, with a shot inside the penalty box.

Zambia bounced back, with Kundananji Racheal scoring the equalizer in the 38th minute from a ball that Korea failed to clear in front of the goal.

Korea attempted to regain the lead, but ended up conceding another goal to Banda Barbra in injury time to end the first half down 2-1, a very concerning result considering the huge gulf between world No. 77 Zambia and No. 17 Korea.

The Taeguk Ladies rallied in the second half, with Lee Geum-min slotting in a ball that started from a free kick in the 58th minute, leveling the score again.

The Brighton forward did not stop there and scored the team’s No. 3 in the 62nd minute after tearing down Zambia’s defense.

Korea’s attacks persisted in the remaining minutes with another goal from Cho in the 84th minute and an injury time extra from Park Eun-sun to end the game at 5-2.

Although Zambia is a significantly lower-ranked team than the three opponents Korea faced in the Arnold Clark Cup, the victory over the African side showed that the Taeguk Ladies have some winning potential against Morocco, whom they will face in the World Cup.

The victory is a bright sign for the Taeguk Ladies, who are looking to reach the knockout stage in the upcoming World Cup, where they previously ended up with three losses in the group stage in 2019.

Colin Bell also acknowledged that the team’s overall performance was solid throughout the game, apart from the last moments of the first half when they lost the lead.

“The way we played the second half, that is how we want to play,” Bell said during the postgame press conference.

Bell’s squad will face Zambia again in a second friendly Tuesday at Yongin Mir Stadium in Yongin, Gyeonggi.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]