The Reality of the Korean Women's National Team
Written by Michael Welch.
For previous reporting on the Korean women’s national team, read here and here.
International football flows in cycles. Every 4 years there is a World Cup to qualify for and compete in. Somewhere in between those World Cups, you’ll have a continental championship to play in, which in women’s international football acts as the qualifying method for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Every 4 years, 2 years in between the World Cup on the men’s side, there is the Summer Olympics football tournament. At the youth level, every 2 years there is an age-level World Cup to qualify for and measure your youth development program against the world.
I write all that to say this: progress in football also flows in cycles. A cycle can progress by introducing new players to the national team squad and watching as they add to the team and bring wins. However, a cycle can just be the continual grinding of gears, fighting and spinning against the world while struggling to improve.
After watching the Korean women’s national team lose by a combined 7-0 to the US women’s national team this June, it is clear that the Taegeuk Ladies are struggling in the latter cycle. Something has stagnated for the squad, and over two matches, they truly struggled to challenge or compete with the US team.
When I first watched the Korean women’s national team live in 2019, the result was far more competitive. They lost 2-0 in their 1st match and then drew the next match 1-1 in Chicago. In 2019, they were competing against the FIFA Women’s World Cup champion US women’s national team. They stood toe to toe with the best national team in the world.
This year? They were soundly beaten by a still-strong US team, but one that had crashed out in the Round of 16 at last year’s World Cup. In the past 5 years, a rapid professionalization of the women’s football landscape has occurred and even the US is struggling to keep up. Where does that leave the Korean team? As of now, the Korean women’s national team has a lot of work to do and will be working from a position of great uncertainty.
Since the women’s international break, the KFA has decided to part ways with head coach Colin Bell, by mutual consent. While it was likely the right move, we undoubtedly must thank Colin for how he helped the team progress.
When Colin Bell became the manager, he worked to make the team play a higher-intensity style. The players really responded to his message, and he took the role incredibly seriously, learning Korean well to work with his players. Though it took time, the play started to improve and his crowning achievement will certainly be the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
At that tournament in India, which allowed the Taegeuk Ladies to qualify for the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Bell led the squad to a 2nd place finish in Group C. They earned the same amount of points as 1st placed Japan, one of the AFC’s best women’s teams, and drew the Nadeshiko 1-1. With a spot on the opposite end of the knockout bracket, they knocked out Australia, with superstar Sam Kerr, in the quarterfinals. Losing in the final to China, though bitterly disappointing, represented their best-ever finish at the event.
However, cracks in his approach have become more apparent as time went on. Almost eerily similar to men’s manager Paulo Bento, he settled on a core of players and played them heavily. However, the big problem was that this core of players was aging, and over time, their play declined. At the 2023 World Cup, Korea crashed out of the group stage and only managed a draw against Germany. They could not keep up with both Colombia and Morocco, losing to higher energy and younger teams.
In addition, Colin Bell failed on 2 occasions to qualify for the Summer Olympics football tournament, which would provide Korea with competitive matches against the top teams in the world before the World Cup. The women’s squad has never qualified for the Olympics, and missing out on those competitive matches makes it that much harder for them to progress and play well at the Women’s World Cup. While the 2021 Summer Olympics qualification process may have occurred too early in his tenure, the devasting two-legged playoff loss to China to miss out on the Olympics foretold another clear frailty that Bell was unable to remedy.
In the second leg of the tie, Korea took a 2-0 lead that put them up 3-2 on aggregate and in line for a ticket to Tokyo. Unfortunately, they let in a goal that caused extra time at a 3-3 aggregate tie. Then, they conceded another goal in extra time to draw the match 2-2 and lose 4-3 on aggregate. They lost another 2-0 lead to China in the Asian Cup final, losing 3-2 in a heartbreaking finish. This squad couldn’t keep leads, and Bell couldn’t help them keep their nerve with leads.
There are certainly positives that Bell will leave behind to this squad, such as the addition of young starlet Casey Phair (we’ll get back to her later). However, at the biggest moments, such as trying to qualify for the 2024 Olympics, he could not get the squad to the next level. Right after the disappointing World Cup performance, he again took a very similar squad to the qualifiers in China. After a draw with rival North Korea in the second match, Bell would have known that his team needed to beat China to progress to the qualifying play-offs for the Paris Olympics. This is because North Korea had to play group minnow Thailand in their final match, which they won 7-0. Because Korea had demolished Thailand 10-1 in their first match, they would have had the GD advantage over North Korea if they beat China. Instead, they suffered a disappointing 1-1 draw where they again failed to protect a lead.
As a result of missing out on Paris, Korea’s next competitive matches will be qualifiers for the 2026 Asian Cup. This squad needs real competitive matches at the Olympics to progress, and Bell couldn’t get them over that line.
Bell will be remembered fondly by the players, but it was time to part ways before the squad’s play further declined.
While watching the Taegeuk Ladies against the USWNT this time, I was struck by how little of an impact the squad could make. That being said, I think it is quite understandable when you realize that this is an aging squad that has simply run out of time. 5 years ago, I was struck by how competitive Cho Sohyun could be in midfield. She was hassling the USWNT and winning midfield duels in a difficult match. She is now 36, and especially at the World Cup, I felt she was too far past it to make an impact.
Watching the match in Minnesota, only a few Korean players made a real impact and showed they could keep up with the US players. Before I dig into those players, watch the official highlights from the match.
I did think Korea started the match brighter than they had in Colorado, and I’ll get to why I think that was the case later. Unfortunately, they went behind after 12 minutes as Choo Hyo-joo was coming back on a break too late and could not properly mark Crystal Dunn at the back post. You can see LCB Lee Young-ju motioning to her that she has to get back to defend, but she just can’t keep up and fails to prevent Dunn from stabbing the ball into the net. Choo is still just 23, but using her at LWB just did not work (returning her to a more traditional attacking winger role would be better). Jang Selgi, at 30, needs to come back to the fray under the new manager because this experiment with Choo didn’t work.
Throughout the starting XI, there were question marks around players that Bell had started for far too long as they aged. In goal, it doesn’t make sense that Kim Jung-mi has started so many matches as she is now 39. She actually made the squad for the 2003 Women’s World Cup at the age of 18. But watching her now, we have to start trying to find a new starting goalkeeper. She will be 42 by the time the 2027 World Cup rolls around and she injured herself making a save before letting in Lily Yohannes’ goal to make it 3-0. For example, why has Lee Da-hye never been called to the national team even though she plays in the German third division?
In that back 5, only 2 players seem to merit further starts in the setup moving forward. Lee Young-ju, whether a CDM/CM or a CB, will be able to make an impact even at the age of 32. She’s playing in Liga F for Madrid CFF, coming up against Spanish players regularly. In addition, Kang Chae-rim has shown a lot of promise as an RW/RWB/RB combo player. At 26, she’s still young enough to test herself abroad, whether in a European league or perhaps following Ji So-yun to NWSL.
Now, when it comes to the rest of that back 5, it seems like there may need to be more players tested. Kim Hye-ri, the captain of the team, has never really impressed as a defensive stalwart. She absolutely will be in and around the squad for her leadership, but other defenders need to be given opportunities to start. Lee Eun-young is just 22 and will certainly merit further looks, but I didn’t notice her much in this match. With Choo, I know she can do a job going forward, but she struggled with the defensive responsibilities of this match.
In midfield, Ji So-yun continues to age like Lionel Messi, for whom her nickname of “Ji Messi” really fits. Lionel’s role has continued to evolve for Argentina and Ji’s will too. I could see her working well as the metronome of a 4-2-3-1, paired with an energetic CDM like Lee Young-ju who can win her balls and then let her progress forward with her passing. In this match, neither Jeon Eun-ha nor Cho So-hyun could move the needle and help Ji in midfield. What happened so often in this match was passes in tight spaces not being accurate enough, or miscommunications being there which caused Korea to lose possession.
In attack, Choe Yu-ri has developed into a better player since moving to Birmingham City’s squad. She absolutely had her moments down the right and I hope to watch a good partnership develop between her and Casey Phair. Casey Phair is a game-changer. At 17, she has so much football ahead of her, but she already showed that she could physically compete against the US defense. When she develops more finishing skills and starts earning pro minutes with Angel City, she could be a #9 CF that Korea has never had. On the left, I’m not sure Lee Geum-min should be a starter or a bench player. I like the idea of Chun Ga-ram earning starts on the left, to see if she provides more than Lee with her speed and dribbling skills, so we can see if she has chemistry with Casey. I noticed a lot of gesturing from Geum-min to Casey during the match, suggesting they were struggling to get on the same page.
These last paragraphs illustrate just how much of a rebuild this squad will need under its new manager. Steve Han, the most respected Korean American football journalist, echoed this sentiment after watching the match too. The next Korean manager will need to look beyond the current core and find ways to build a squad that can compete in matches outside of Asia.
Bubbling under the surface for the Korean women’s national team is another very important issue. In May, the national team players, with support from the Korean Professional Footballers Association and FIFPRO, went public with their request to speak with the KFA about improvements in working conditions during national team duty. The article from FIFPRO paints a picture of a national team squad treated like second-class citizens by their football association and a discussion needs to be had with the KFA about what improvements can be agreed upon. “We have so many things that we have to change,” Ji So-yun said when asked about the situation. I could hear the frustration in her voice when she said “So many”. “However, the first part, talking with them, has been difficult,” she said.
So-yun indicated that the KFA expressed little interest in speaking with the national team players about improved conditions because the women’s national team doesn’t bring money to the FA with their matches. However, it almost becomes a chicken and the egg question: How do you make money for an FA that doesn’t provide you with the conditions to make money?
This was the promotional flyer for the most recent international friendly that the Korean women’s national team had in Korea. The match took place at 7 PM on a Friday in Icheon, South Korea. Does that stadium look like an appealing place to watch a football match?
Contrast that to the venue for the men’s most recent FIFA World Cup qualifier against China. Which venue would you rather attend a match at?
Before you say, “But Michael, there’s way more money in men’s football,” I get it. Still, the KFA could do far more to help the women’s national team drive interest and sell tickets to their matches. This is something I am sure women’s national teams around the world are fighting for, and I am proud that the Korean players have spoken up and asked for better conditions. For starters, the KFA should schedule women’s national team friendlies in K League stadiums where fans can easily get to the match. A women’s friendly at the DGB Daegu Bank Park could be a perfect venue choice. Who wouldn’t want to watch a match in a stadium like this?
It may take a while for progress to be made, but the national team players and KFA really need to discuss what conditions need to be improved and what standards need to be met. There can be push and pull on what they get, and I’m sure that the women players will need to make concessions, but it is clear improvements can be agreed upon.
In fact, improved conditions for the women’s national team could very well lead to better performance in critical matches. Whether it’s better equipment, better training pitches, or more comfortable accommodations, the environment that the squad has in preparing for their matches needs work.
Finally, the Korean women’s national team truly is experiencing a fight to find quality players for the national team. Steve Han posted a thread detailing the severe talent gap between US women’s football and women’s football in South Korea. There are 30,000 women playing football for American university teams. The number in South Korea? 203. That’s a shocking gap.
Steve correctly pointed out that the KFA will need to monitor Korean-Americans playing in American universities and youth football to see if there are good prospects there.
Casey Yujin Phair is an incredible example of a Korean-American who can impact the quality of this national team for years to come. Interestingly though, Casey is on the Korean women’s national team because she and her family reached out first. Through a KFA contact, her father got her match clips in front of the KFA women’s national team staff. “We just sent them clips of my games with PDA and then I flew out for a U18 camp. I think they liked me, I guess, and I just stuck with the U17s, and then before the World Cup, I got called up,” Casey said.
We can all see why the KFA liked her, especially if she can do this at the U17 level, making the difference in qualifying for the FIFA U17 World Cup or not. If the KFA wants to take the next step, it will need to start scouting more Korean American players to expand its talent pool.
At the moment, the reality of this women’s national team is not dissimilar to the men’s team. Korea Republic is firmly one of the best squads in Asia, right there with Japan, North Korea (not a men’s power), China (also not a men’s power), and Australia. However, they’re in danger of falling behind the rest of the world and continuing to struggle to compete with European teams or North and South American teams. There’s work to be done to select the next national team manager, expand the talent pool, and also find the right balance for improved conditions when preparing for matches. I’m not sure the KFA will be up to these tasks, as they have shown some incredible incompetence in the past few months on the men’s side, but I do know I will be supporting the women’s national team for years to come. Will you?