North Korea will face Japan in an exciting final of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup on Sunday evening, local time.
North Korea will face Japan in an exciting final of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup on Sunday evening, local time.
- North Korea enter the match with a psychological advantage over Japan after beating them in the final of the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup in Uzbekistan in March. The Asian Football Confederation’s official website said North Korea were seeking to add their third world title to the two they won in 2006 and 2016.
- North Korea have been consistent since the start of the current edition, starting their campaign with a 6-2 win over Argentina in Group F.
- That was followed by wins over Costa Rica (9-0) and the Netherlands (2-0), and a 5-2 win over Austria in the round of 16.
- The North Koreans faced a tough test in the quarter-finals against Brazil, but emerged 1-0 victors, before meeting the United States in the semi-finals, also winning by the same scoreline.
- “We are just one match away from being crowned world champions, which is an amazing feeling,” said Chae Un-young, a player for the North Korean team, who was named the best player at the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup. “If we become champions, it means we have done something great for our country. It means we have brought great honour to our country, and that is the most important thing.”
- Regarding the Japanese team, Chae said: “Of course, the Japanese team is very strong and technically good and controls the pace of the matches. But we have faced them before in the Asian Cup, and if we play now as we did then, I am confident that we can win the title.”
- While the North Korean team is looking to win its third title in its fourth appearance in the final of the tournament, the Japanese team is seeking to win its second title, after winning the world title in 2018 and finishing second two years ago.
- The Japanese team qualified for the final match after achieving a full score in the group stage, where it topped Group Five after defeating New Zealand 7-0, Ghana 4-1 and Austria 2-0.
- In the round of 16, it defeated Nigeria 2-1, then managed to take revenge on the Spanish team after defeating them 1-0 in the quarter-finals, after extra time, and in the semi-finals, it defeated the Dutch team 2-0.
- Japan’s Manaka Masutakubo said her team is determined not to lose again after missing out on the title in 2022 to Spain.
- “I think everyone is tired, but we only have one game left to play with this team, so being tired doesn’t mean anything. Everyone will do their best for the team, and we definitely want to win,” she added.
- The United States will play the Netherlands in the third-place match on Saturday evening