The 7th ‘Century Club (100 A match club appearances)’ in the history of Korean women’s soccer was born.
The Korean women’s national team (ranked 15th in the FIFA rankings), led by coach Colin Bell, played against England (ranked 4th in the FIFA rankings) in the first leg of the Arnold Clark Cup held at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, England at 4:45 a.m.스포츠토토 (Korean time) on the 17th. They lost 0-4.
Korea used a 5-4-1 formation. Son Hwa-yeon, Choi Yu-ri, Kim Yun-ji, Lee Geum-min, Kang Chae-rim, Jang Seul-gi, Lim Seon-joo, Hong Hye-ji, Kim Hye-ri, Chu Hyo-joo, and Kim Jeong-mi sortied as starters.
The waiting list included Yun Young-geul, Kim Kyung-hee, Ryu Ji-su, Kim Hye-young, Park Ye-eun, Jang Chang, Lee Eun-young, Ko Min-jeong, Park Eun-sun, Shim Seo-yeon, Ji So-yeon, Bae Ye-bin, Cheon Ga-ram, Lee Jung-min, and Jang Yu-bin.
Prior to the match, special news was delivered. It is Lim Seon-joo who first wore the Taegeuk mark in 2009 and succeeded in joining the ‘Century Club’ with England that day. Lim Seon-joo is the 7th Korean women’s soccer player to be named to the Century Club after Cho So-hyun (142G), Ji So-yeon (142G), Kim Jung-mi (132G), Kim Hye-ri (107G), Kwon Ha-neul (105G), and Jeon Ga-eul (101G).
We’ve been together for a long time with a lot of history. Lim Seon-ju participated in Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup 4 times (2010, 2014, 2018, 2022), East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship (East Asian Cup) 4 times (2013, 2015, 2017, 2022) ), participated in the Asian Games twice (2014 Incheon, 2018 Jakarta-Palembang), and the FIFA Women’s World Cup (2015 Canada).
The upcoming 2023 Australia-New Zealand Women’s World Cup is also likely to step on. Coach Bell has been building a defensive line by using Lim Seon-joo steadily since he took office. He plans to defend Korea’s goal by making use of his long-term experience of playing for the national team and Incheon Hyundai Steel.
Today, South Korea built a central defense with Lim Seon-joo, Hong Hye-ji and Kim Hye-ri. Although they faced England, the head of football, and lost, they faced the wall of the world again. Korea will face Belgium and Italy in turn during the remainder of the Arnold Clark Cup.