女 Football, former coach 'Colin Bell' moved! Kim Min-ji's hat-trick shines! 5-0 "spicy taste" against Myanmar... North Korea also secures a 10-0 victory

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean women's national football team announced a strong start with a decisive victory in their first match of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Led by coach Shin Sang-woo, South Korea defeated Myanmar 5-0 in the Group F opener at Nagoya Stadium in Japan on the 14th.

The match also drew attention as a showdown with Colin Bell, the current Myanmar head coach who previously led the South Korean national team for an extended period.

The key players were Kim Min-ji (Seoul City Hall), who scored a hat-trick, and veteran full-back Jang Seul-gi (Gyeongju HanSuwon), who contributed one goal and two assists.

Kim Min-ji, who has grown into a core player since earning her first Taegeuk mark last year, opened the scoring in the 29th minute of the first half with a left-footed shot from near the arc. She then completed her hat-trick by converting Jang Seul-gi's passes into goals in the 33rd minute of the first half and the 14th minute of the second half. Jang Seul-gi also played an active role, scoring an additional goal directly in the 38th minute of the first half.

In the second half, South Korea faced some frustration as Choi Yu-ri (Suwon FC Wi-min) and Ji So-yun (Suwon FC Wi-min) each missed penalty kicks. However, Choi Yu-ri calmly converted a one-on-one chance in the 31st minute of the second half to complete a 5-0 goal fest.

The South Korean women's football team aims for the first-ever Asian Games gold medal in this tournament. Their best historical result is three bronze medals (2010, 2014, and 2018), and they were eliminated in the quarterfinals at the previous Hangzhou Games.

With momentum boosted by their first win, South Korea will face Bangladesh on the 17th and North Korea on the 21st in the Group Stage's second and third matches, respectively.

Meanwhile, Asian powerhouses also began their campaigns with decisive victories. North Korea, in the same group as South Korea, crushed the weakest team, Bangladesh, 10-0. Led by top scorer Kim Kyung-young from the previous Hangzhou Games, along with Jeon Ryung-jeong and Chae Eun-young, who each scored multiple goals, they unleashed a goal storm.

Host nation Japan defeated Thailand 8-0 in Group E, while China in Group G overpowered Hong Kong 5-1.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.