*This content was translated by AI.
The coach of the North Korean women's national soccer team reprimanded the players despite a complete victory.
North Korea won 3-0 with Myung Yoo-jung's hat trick in the first Group B match of the '2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup' against Uzbekistan at Western Sydney Stadium in Sydney, Australia on the 3rd (Korea time).
North Korea, which disappeared after the 2010 Chinese Games due to disqualification and elimination from the preliminary round, won its first Asian Cup return match in 16 years.
North Korea is seeking its fourth championship in the tournament. North Korea, which won the tournament in 2001, 2003 and 2008, is tied for second place with the most wins after China (nine times).
After the game, North Korean national team coach Lee Sung-ho left bitter criticism even after a three-point complete victory. AFC said on its official channel, "The North Korean coach also mentioned the weight of Asia's best stage in response to the increased expectations due to the success of the national team by age."
Coach Lee Sung-ho said in a post-match press conference, "The biggest challenge is the lack of international stage experience and determination. "The first goal I was lucky to score in the early stages only gave me psychological stability," he said.
In particular, he pointed out the lack of skills of the candidate players in relation to their scoreless performance in the second half. Coach Lee Sung-ho said, "I didn't know the difference in skills between the main match and the candidates would be this much," adding, "After Uzbekistan changed its tactics defensively at the end of the first half, the complementary points were clearly revealed when we put in bench members. The goal is to win, but I haven't reached that level yet. "We need to refine our tactics much more before the match against Bangladesh," he stressed.
North Korea will play its second Group B match against Bangladesh on the 6th and China on the 3rd match on the 9th.
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*This content was translated by AI.
