Korea bow out of Women’s World Cup as Morocco create history

South Korea’s challenge at the FIFA Women’s World Cup fizzled out at a damp and occasionally drizzly Hindmarsh Stadium on Sunday as the AFC Women’s Asian Cup runners-up made a limp exit from the competition with a 1-0 loss against tournament debutants Morocco in Adelaide.

Ibtissam Jraidi’s sixth-minute header was the difference between the teams as the north Africans rebounded from their opening 6-0 thrashing at the hands of former champions Germany to register their first-ever win at the tournament and leave the Koreans heading home.

Coach Colin Bell had set his sights on a place in the knockout rounds for the Koreans and, after losing to Colombia in their opener, the Taegeuk Ladies needed to pick up all three points against the Moroccans to harbour any hope of advancing to the last 16.

That never looked likely, however, even after the Englishman rang the changes in his starting line-up, with Yoon Young-geul – guilty of the error that gifted Colombia the second goal in that opening round loss – dropped in favour of Kim Jung-mi.

In defence Shim Seo-yeon, who conceded a penalty for the opener in the Colombia loss, was due to be left out but an injury into the warm-up to Lim Seon-joo earned her a reprieve with Hong Hye-ji coming in for the unfortunate defender. Forward Choe Yu-ri, meanwhile, made way for Park Eun-sun.

Despite the changes, Koreans made the worst possible start and trailed within the opening six minutes, Jraidi stooping to head past Kim as she expertly met a cross from Hanane Ait El Haj on the right that skimmed in at waist height.

Bell’s side had looked uncertain from the first whistle and that sense only increased as the half wore on. Routine passes were misplaced or overhit, the midfield unable to connect with the forward line. First touches, too, were heavy and possession was squandered cheaply.

Salman Amani could have added a second after the Moroccans carved their way through the defence again, the move started from the back by Nouhalia Benzina’s long, accurate pass and ending with Amani shooting over the bar after setting herself up to strike.

Sakina Ouzraoui and Ghizlane Chebbak both had views of goal as the half wore on while the Koreans pressed forward only to gain little reward for their dominance of possession.

Bell made a pair of changes in an effort to revitalise his team, bringing on Choe and Moon Mi-ri for Son Hwa-yeon and Cho Hyo-joo respectively and the Koreans gained more of an attacking edge, even if they continued to fall short.

Moon flashed an early attempt across goal to suggest the tide could be turned in favour of the Koreans.

But the midfield continued to misfire and they resorted to pumping the ball into the ball into the penalty area. That, though, was a tactic the disciplined Moroccan defence managed with little difficulty.

It was not until Casey Phair was introduced with only seven minutes of regular time remaining that Bell’s side gained a presence in attack. 

The 16-year-old, who became the youngest player ever to feature at a Women’s World Cup days earlier against the Colombians, narrowly missed hitting the equaliser, her left-foot shot on the turn rolling just wide of Khadija Er-rmichi’s post.

It was a frustrating end for a Korean side that fell short of the standards that had taken them to the Women’s Asian Cup final 18 months ago, leaving Bell and his squad with questions to answer upon their early return to South Korea later in the week.

THINGS WE LEARNED

The Koreans lacked composure in midfield: Despite featuring the experienced trio of Ji So-yun, Lee Geum-min and Cho So-hyun, this was a team that lacked the ability to not only create in midfield but to retain possession in a manner capable of hurting the Moroccans. Too often the ball was given away, especially in the opening 45 minutes, with passes misplaced and poor touches gifting the ball to the opposition.

Yoon pays for opening day mistake: Yoon Young-geul paid the price for her awful handling error against Colombia, when she flapped limply at Linda Caceido’s long-range strike in Sydney, prompting Bell to replace her between the posts with Kim Jung-mi. Whether the change worked or not, Kim was soon picking the ball out of her goal as the Moroccans took the lead through Ibtissam Jraidi in the sixth minute.

Phair needed to be given more time: Bell has understandably – and correctly – sought to protect Casey Phair from the media spotlight while stressing that she’s good enough to justify her place in the squad despite her youth. But giving her only seven minutes plus stoppage time in a side needing a goal was arguably short-changing the forward. She should have been brought on sooner.

WHAT THEY SAID

Colin Bell (Coach)

“Congratulations to Morocco for their first win in World Cup history. I’m not going to say it was a deserved win. I think they were got off to a good start, and that affected us in the first half.

“I think in the second half we had almost all of the play, and the chances that we did create then we rushed them, we didn’t take them. 

“I have experienced so many ups and downs in football, and this is definitely one of the worst moments that I’ve experienced because I know how my players have been able to perform over the last four years.

“But we’ve seen basically no little glimpses of it in these two matches. And I’m just very, very surprised that we’ve presented ourselves in such a fashion. 

“The girls have not done themselves justice. We haven’t done ourselves justice as a team. We haven’t represented our country the way we should have represented them.”

WHAT COMES NEXT

A demoralised South Korea will now take on the might of former champions Germany, a side that thumped the Moroccans 6-0 in their opener. Bell’s side have little to play for but pride after back-to-back losses and will have to hope the Europeans have an off-day if they are not to suffer a third straight defeat before their return to Seoul.