"Washing off the Hangzhou nightmare," Shin Sang-woo aims to face North Korea again at the Asian Games in a historic bid for gold... Grouped with North Korea, Bangladesh, and Myanmar

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean women's national football team, aiming for its first-ever Asian Games gold medal, will face North Korea right from the group stage.

According to the draw results conducted by the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organizing Committee on the 23rd in Nagoya, Japan, the team led by Coach Shin Sang-woo has been placed in Group F alongside North Korea, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.

In this tournament's women's football competition, a total of 12 teams are divided into three groups for the group stage. The top two teams from each group (six teams) plus the two best third-placed teams will advance to the quarterfinals to compete for the championship.

South Korea has consistently qualified for the finals since the 1990 Beijing Games but has never won a gold medal. Its best results were bronze medals in 2010, 2014, and 2018. Notably, at the previous 2022 Hangzhou Games, South Korea suffered a decisive 1-4 defeat to North Korea in the quarterfinals, ending their campaign. Coach Shin Sang-woo is determined to exact revenge in this upcoming matchup. Historically, South Korea trails North Korea with only one win, four draws, and sixteen losses.

However, being drawn into a group with Myanmar (ranked significantly lower, undefeated in seven matches) and Bangladesh (first-ever meeting), the prospects for reaching the quarterfinals are bright.

Coach Shin Sang-woo will field his strongest lineup for this tournament. Alongside veteran core players such as Ji So-yun (Suwon FC), Kim Hye-ri, and Choi Yuri (both Suwon FC), numerous overseas-based players including Cho Hyo-joo and Jung Min-young (both Ottawa Rapid) and Jung Da-bin (Starbeck Football) will join the squad in pursuit of a historic gold medal.

Coach Shin Sang-woo is scheduled to assemble the team in early September to begin intensive preparation for the tournament.

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*This content was translated by AI.