We didn’t get a result again. A disappointing 2023 season.
The South Korean women’s national team, led by head coach Colleen Bell, played to a 1-1 draw against China in their final Group B match of the Asian Women’s Football Confederation 2024 Olympic Qualification on Monday at the Xiamen Yigret Stadium in Fujian Province, China.
Prior to the match, South Korea (4W, +9G) led the group on goal difference, ahead of North Korea (4W, +1G). However, North Korea’s 7-0 demolition of Thailand prior to the Korea-China match propelled them to the top of the group (7 points), while South Korea dropped to second place (5 points) with just one additional point.
The second round of group play features 12 nations divided into three groups. The best of the first and second place finishers in each group qualify for the quarterfinals, and South Korea was unable to claim one of the remaining spots, falling behind both Group A runner-up Philippines and Group C runner-up Uzbekistan (both with 6+ points), and failing to qualify for the Olympic Games.
It’s been a disappointing season for Belho. It hasn’t yielded any tangible results. He was knocked out of the group stage of the Qatar 2022 World Cup (1 draw, 2 losses) and failed to win a medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Although the quarterfinal against North Korea was a close call, it left a lot to be desired in terms of content.
At the last international event of the year, the Olympic Qualifiers, they started well. We thrashed Thailand 10-0 and drew 0-0 with a tough North Korea to earn a valuable point. But they couldn’t get past the ‘Great Wall of China’. It was especially painful to concede an equalizer after taking the lead and not being able to defend it.
Bell has been with the Korean women’s soccer team since 2019. As the first foreigner to coach the women’s national team, expectations were high, and she delivered. Despite missing out on qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the team finished runners-up at last year’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup, prompting the KFA to extend Bell’s contract until July 2023.
In April this year, they gave her a further boost by signing a second contract until December 2024. However, with the lack of results, there is a question mark over whether a ‘change’ will bring the same results in 2024. It’s also a question mark as to whether or not his comments about blaming the system and the environment will resonate in the current situation. 무지개토토 주소
It is true that the national team has improved since Bell took the helm, as he has identified ‘generational’ resources and gained international experience through trials in Europe and elsewhere. However, the most important measure of a coach and his team is the results. Even if the process is good, it is difficult to attach much meaning to the process if the results do not follow.