"Our tradition of victory is strong. Our women's soccer is strong." (Park Sung-jin, coach of North Korea's Under-17 women's soccer team)
North Korea 'Steel Girls' won their second consecutive title with an overwhelming and absolute performance at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.
North Korea defeated the Netherlands 3-0 in the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup final at Rabat Olympic Stadium in Morocco at 4 a.m. on the 9th (Korea time).
North Korea won 2-0 in the first Group B match against Mexico on the 19th of last month, won 2-1 in the second match against Cameroon on the 21st, and reached the round of 16 with a 5-0 victory and three consecutive wins in the third match against the Netherlands on the 25th with an 11-10 numerical advantage. It beat host Morocco 6-1 in the round of 16 on the 29th, beat Japan 5-1 in the quarterfinals on the 2nd, and reached the final with a 2-0 clean sheet complete victory in the semifinals on the 6th.
North Korea dominated and led the game from the beginning of the first half against the Netherlands, which had already won 5-0. North Korea, which took the lead with Kim Won-sim's first goal and seventh goal of the tournament in the 14th minute of the first half, actually booked the championship by leading 3-0 in the first half alone thanks to Park Rye-young's net goal following Ri Eui-kyung's help in the 14th minute of the first half and Ri Eui-kyung's additional goal in the 42nd minute of the first half. The game continued in the second half. It overwhelmed the Netherlands with a clean sheet victory, with 23 shots, 10 shots, and only one shot.
Yoo Jeong-hyang scored eight goals in this tournament and Kim Won-sim, who scored the first goal on the day, scored seven goals, and showed a performance close to perfection with 25 goals and 3 runs in a total of 7 games until the final. Along with the second consecutive victory in the tournament, he broke his fourth career 'most 'most ' since 2008, 2016, and 2024.
When the whistle sounded at the end of the fourth minute of extra time in the second half, North Korean players flocked to coach Park Sung-jin and cheered enthusiastically. I succeeded in defending the title. At the moment of North Korea's victory, the scene where BTS Jungkook's 'Dreamers', the theme song of the Qatar World Cup, played was impressive.
In an official FIFA interview before the match, North Korean coach Park Sung-jin said, `Players' skills and abilities are not created overnight. Our players started playing soccer as part of our national strategy from an early age, so they have all the skills to excel in these tournaments," he explained about his growth and success. Right after the game "I'm really happy. Our players fought really well until the end. I'm really happy that I gave my family the gold medal to win the championship with pride." Saying that the future of North Korean women's soccer is expected, the tradition of victory will continue in the future. Our women's soccer is strong," he said, clenching his fist.
Captain Li Jin-ah "I'm very happy right now. I'm happiest at this moment. It was a World Cup that I only dreamed of. I want to show this World Cup to my parents and people of my country and share this joy with them" gave an overwhelming impression.
Reporter Jeon Young-ji sky4us@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
