South Korea’s women’s soccer team suffered a second straight defeat at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia-New Zealand 2023, falling to Morocco, one of the weakest teams in the group. Their chances of advancing to the round of 16 are now slim.
Head coach Colleen Bell’s side lost 0-1 to Morocco in their second Group H match of the tournament at Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide, Australia, on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. ET.
It was the second straight defeat for South Korea (2W, 0L), which lost its first game 0-2 to Colombia on Sept. 25.
Morocco (1W, 1D, 3P), playing in their first-ever World Cup, recorded a historic first win. They avenged a 0-6 loss to Germany in the first round.
South Korea, ranked 17th in the FIFA rankings, found themselves in a tough spot in Group H as they were stunned by Morocco (72nd), the lowest-ranked team and first-time World Cup qualifiers.
Their hopes of reaching the round of 16 remained alive, albeit very slim, thanks to Colombia’s upset 2-1 victory over powerhouse Germany in the next game.
Colombia is in first place with two wins (6 points), followed by Germany and Morocco (D1 L1 D3) in second and third place.
The top two finishers in each group advance to the round of 16.
Velho’s final opponent, however, will be Germany, the two-time World Cup champions, FIFA’s No. 2 ranked team and the group’s strongest. 꽁머니지급
If last-place South Korea wins its final game and Colombia beats Morocco, leaving all three teams with one or two points, Belo Horizonte will have to settle for goal difference.
Here again, Belho’s prospects are bleak. Germany’s goal differential is +5, Morocco’s is -5, and South Korea’s is -3.
South Korea needs to beat Germany by more than five goals. Even then, it won’t matter if Morocco wins or draws with Colombia.
South Korea and Germany face off next month on March 3 at 7pm.