Lost 0-2 to Japan and advanced to the bronze medal match... “I was worried about our physical strength in the second half, but we continued to concede goals.”

Coach Shin Sang-woo of the women's soccer team, who lost to Japan in the semifinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and was pushed to the bronze medal match, regretted that their physical inferiority in the second half led to the defeat and blamed himself for not advancing to the finals for the first time in history.

Coach Shin said at a press conference after the semifinals of the tournament held at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa in Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan on the 29th, "The players did their best, but the results were not good. I was worried about physical strength in the second half as I traveled back and forth between Osaka and Shizuoka (venue of the quarterfinals) for a long time, but that turned out to be a reality and I think we lost because we conceded a goal."

The national team led by Coach Shin lost 0-2, allowing only two goals to Japan's Chiina Kamiya in the second half of the day.

Korea, which had previously only won bronze medals three times (2010, 2014, and 2018) in women's soccer at the Asian Games, attempted to advance to the finals for the first time in its history, but was caught in the semifinals again.

Coach Shin, who placed midfielder Kim Min-ji (Seoul City Hall), who has scored the most 5 goals on the team in this tournament, as a central midfielder and deployed Ji So-yeon (Suwon FC Women) forward to face Japan, explained, "To block the central penetration passes that the opponent often attempts, I put Kim Min-ji down, who has good defensive activity, and I wanted to bring up Ji So-yeon, who can block the ball and then possess it."

He said, "It is the coach's fault that we missed the opportunity to advance to the finals for the first time," and added, "I think we need some diversity in our players if we are to break the barrier to getting to the finals. We need to discover more young players."

At the same time, Coach Shin added, "I think the performance of Kim Min-ji and Yoon Soo-jeong in this tournament is a harvest. The experience of young players scoring on a big stage and facing a strong team will have a positive effect in preparing for next year's World Cup." He added, "I would like to praise the two players who showed improvement."

The national team will compete for the bronze medal against China on October 2nd. Korea, which was eliminated in the quarterfinals at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held in 2023, will return to the podium for the first time in eight years if it defeats China.

Coach Shin said, "The Chinese players are almost the same as during the East Asian Football Confederation (EAFF) E-1 Championship. I think we need to check the physical strength of our players first."