"We're also a championship contender," Japan and North Korea were both on high alert... Kim Min-ji's hat trick leads to first-round 5-0 rout

*This content was translated by AI.

There was a reason why other championship contenders were wary of the South Korean women's football team.

The South Korean team, led by head coach Shin Sang-woo, decisively defeated Myanmar 5-0 in the opening match of Group F of the women's football tournament at the 2026 Aichi·Nagoya Asian Games, held on the 14th at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan.

The protagonist of the match was Kim Min-ji (Seoul City Hall).

Kim Min-ji scored the opening goal in the 28th minute of the first half, then struck the back of the net again just four minutes later. In the 14th minute of the second half, she added a third goal to complete her hat trick.

Choi Yu-ri (Suwon FC) and Jang Seul-gi (Gyeongju HanSuwon) also joined the scoring ranks, adding strength to the decisive victory.

The match content was also one-sided. South Korea recorded 19 shots against Myanmar, with 11 of them resulting in on-target shots. In contrast, Myanmar managed only a single shot. South Korea also dominated possession with an 84%-16% advantage.

South Korea is aiming for its first-ever Asian Games final appearance and a gold medal at this tournament.

The best-ever result for the South Korean women's football team at the Asian Games is a bronze medal. They finished third three times: at the 2010 Guangzhou, 2014 Incheon, and 2018 Jakarta-Palembang tournaments. At the previous Hangzhou tournament, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

However, this time they are aiming for more than that. Ahead of the Games, Coach Shin Sang-woo emphasized, "Our goal is to reach the finals and change the color of our medals."

Interestingly, other strong contenders vying for the championship also kept a close watch on South Korea's strength.

According to Japan's Kyodo News, Park Sung-jin, manager of the North Korea Yeo Ja-chuk-gu (CEO) team, said at a press conference held ahead of the tournament's opening match that "the goal is to win," adding that "Japan, China, and South Korea are this tournament's top rivals."

Coincidentally, South Korea and North Korea were drawn in the same group, Group F. South Korea will face Myanmar and Bangladesh in sequence before playing their final group stage match against North Korea on the 21st.

North Korea also demonstrated formidable firepower from the very first match, crushing Bangladesh by a staggering score of 10-0 and announcing its arrival as a championship contender.

Manager Park said he would approach the match against Korea with the same focus as any other game, offering few words on the matter.

Other traditional powerhouses also sailed through from the first match. Defending champion Japan crushed Thailand 8-0, while China defeated Hong Kong 5-1.

Japan, China, and North Korea are the traditional powerhouses representing women's football at the Asian Games. Since women's football was first included as an official event at the 1990 Beijing Games, all three nations have claimed the top spot three times each. Notably, Japan also secured the gold medal in the previous tournament.

Korea, which is aiming for its first-ever gold medal, also made a strong impression from the very first match.

China's Sohu.com also focused on Korea's strong start. The outlet, summarizing the first round of matches in the women's football group stage, reported that "six East Asian teams recorded five wins and one loss."

He added, "Six teams from East Asia participated in this Asian Games. China, Taiwan, North Korea, Japan, and South Korea all secured victories, with Hong Kong being the only team to suffer a defeat." He emphasized that "particularly, South Korea, Japan, and North Korea achieved decisive wins in the first round, conceding not a single goal to their opponents."

It appears that the gaze of rival nations, which had been wary of Korea, proved correct from the very first match.

Meanwhile, 12 countries participated in the women's football tournament at this event. The teams were divided into three groups of four for the group stage, with the top two teams from each group advancing directly to the quarterfinals. Additionally, the two best-performing third-place teams secured the remaining two spots in the quarterfinals.

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*This content was translated by AI.