(Nagoya = Yonhap News) Reporter Oh Myeong-eon = The Korean women's soccer team, which achieved a milestone by winning a bronze medal in the Asian Games for the first time in eight years, put aside its regrets and looked further afield.
The Korean national team, led by coach Shin Sang-woo, won the bronze medal by defeating China 1-0 in the bronze medal match of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at Ecopa Stadium, Shizuoka Stadium, Japan on the 2nd.
Coach Shin Sang-woo, who held a press conference after the game, began by saying, "Although we did not achieve the final score we aimed for while preparing for the Asian Games, I am thankful that the players won a valuable medal in the bronze medal match."
“I think the players were even more nervous because the first goal came too early,” he said. “As a result, they were unable to continue until the second and third goals due to lack of precision, but they did their best until the end to avoid conceding goals and were able to maintain that momentum until the end of the game and win a medal.”
Shin Sang-woo aimed to advance to the finals for the first time in the history of the competition, but failed to achieve his goal as he lost 0-2 to Japan in the semifinals on the 29th of last month and was pushed to the bronze medal match.
However, by defeating China, they won a bronze medal for the first time in eight years and for the fourth time in their career, following Guangzhou in 2010, Incheon in 2014, and Jakarta and Palembang in 2018.
Coach Shin, who concluded the tournament with this, also revealed his plans for next year's Women's World Cup.
He emphasized, “Ironically, playing against all of Asia’s strongest teams in this Asian Games was the biggest achievement,” and added, “No matter which opponent we face, we must have the fighting spirit to fight like we did today, and we will continue to improve our detailed and organized aspects in the future.”
He continued, “Three weeks passed as quickly as three days. I wish I had shown a better performance during the semifinal match against Japan, but I would like to once again express my gratitude to the players who did their best and did not give up until the end.”
Noh Jin-young, who scored the winning goal on this day, said, "Even though it was a difficult match, I am very happy to win a bronze medal and return to Korea. Although we did not make it to the finals, it was the result of everyone working hard as a team for a bronze medal."
Noh Jin-young scored the first goal in the 4th minute of the first half.
After the free kick, Choi Yu-ri ran towards the ball with a back header and finished with a clean header.
He recalled the situation at the time, saying, “Because the Chinese players are tall, we trained to focus on the second ball the day before,” and added, “I think my body reacted without realizing it when I saw Yuri heading in front of me.”
Jin-young Noh predicted that this medal would be a great asset in preparing for next year's World Cup.
He said, “Honestly, I am disappointed with the bronze medal because I came with the goal of winning the gold medal, but it is a valuable result obtained by doing the best I can under the current circumstances.” He added, “As I gained a lot of confidence through this competition, I want to continue this good trend until next year’s World Cup.”
