Korea knock Germany out of World Cup in final game, again

Korea's Cho So-hyun scores a goal during a 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup group stage game against Germany at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia on Thursday. [YONHAP]

If there’s one thing Korea does well, it’s turn inevitable World Cup exits into a chance to upset Germany.

Korea ended their 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup journey with a 1-1 draw with world No. 2 Germany on Thursday, failing to reach the round of 16 but knocking the two-time world champions out of the tournament for the first time in history in the process.

Thursday’s result marks the second time in five years that a Korean team on the way out has taken Germany down with them. At the 2018 men's World Cup, an already-knocked-out Korea beat Germany 2-0 in the final group stage game to knock the European side out of the competition as well.

On both occasions, it was a Tottenham Hotspur player that delivered the killing blow — Son Heung-min in 2018 and Cho So-hyun in 2023.

This time around, Korea was not technically out of the competition when the match started, but had to beat Germany with at least a five-goal margin on the condition that Colombia defeat Morocco in order to advance to the knockout stage.

That result at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia seemed unlikely, but Korea showed significantly better cohesion than the past two games from the beginning of Thursday’s game, displaying agile movements with good passes.

Forward Casey Phair and midfielder Lee Young-ju started the game for the first time in the tournament and their influence was visible.

Phair — the youngest player ever to make a World Cup debut — capitalized on a chance to score in the second minute, but her shot hit the post after goalkeeper Merle Frohms got her hands on the ball.

Korea kept looking for an early goal and Cho opened the scoring in the sixth minute, hammering in a shot after a through ball from Lee.

That goal was Korea’s first goal in this year’s tournament after failing to manage a goal in their first two games.

The Taeguk Ladies defense, however, still looked shaky and Korea conceded an equalizer to Alexandra Popp in the 41st minute.

That equalizer put pressure on the team in the second half, with the defenders failing to effectively stop Popp when she made threatening movements, including her goal in the 55th minute that was ruled offside.

The midfield’s stamina then started to drop after 60 minutes and they were unable to handle the pressure from Germany, failing to create solid chances like in the first half.

Phair continued to stay agile regardless, attempting to snatch the ball to create opportunities on her own.

Germany’s attack persisted as they also had to secure a win to advance to the knockout stage. Their attempts proved futile, and once again Germany join Korea on the early journey home.

Even had Korea managed to get those five goals it would not have mattered in the end, with Morocco beating Colombia 1-0 to ensure both sides advanced to the last 16.

Korea’s World Cup journey ended with just one draw and two losses — a 2-0 loss to Colombia, 1-0 loss to Morocco and 1-1 draw with Germany.

That result was still better than the previous tournament, where Korea suffered three straight losses.

The disappointing results again this year raise a question of whether Korea should revamp the overall structure of the country’s women’s football.

The WK League is not only virtually unknown here, but it has not enough intensity that induces players to be at the level on which they are able to compete on the international stage.

“The players are not used to playing at this kind of intensity, not just physical but also mental,” Bell said during a post-game press conference on Sunday after losing to Morocco. “In the WK League, where the majority of our players play, if you win, it’s nice and if you lose, it’s not so bad.

“There is no consequence for defeat, there is no relegation.”

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