Outnumbered for a long time

Bitter! U20 women fail to reach the last 16 of the World Cup

For the ÖFB U20 women, the World Cup ended in the round of 16 against North Korea.

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Austria's women's national soccer team has reached the round of 16 at the U20 World Cup in Colombia. The ÖFB team conceded a 5-2 defeat against North Korea in Medellin on Thursday. A goal from Valentina Mädl (11') and an own goal from Han Hong Ryon (63') were not enough for the World Cup debutants to cause a sensation. In addition to Hyang Sin (3rd, 37th), Kim Kang Mi (53rd), Chae Un Yong (74th) and Pak Mi Ryong (92nd) also scored for the two-time U20 world champions.

After a yellow card for Freiburg international Nicole Ojukwu (29), the Austrians had to play short-handed for long periods. Nevertheless, they were able to upset the favorites, who had had no trouble against Argentina (6:2), Costa Rica (9:0) and the Netherlands (2:0) so far in the tournament, at least for long stretches. With five goals conceded, the ÖFB squad conceded more in their debut in the knockout phase than they had conceded in their previous matches against Ghana (2:1), New Zealand (3:1) and Japan (0:2). Despite the loss, the tournament will go down as a success in ÖFB history.

"Basically, I have to say that it's extremely disappointing that we couldn't get anything today. At the same time, I'm insanely proud of the players because they gave everything they had right up to the last minute, even though they were outnumbered for around an hour," summed up ÖFB team boss Markus Hackl. Captain Chiara D'Angelo also mourned the missed promotion. "I'm sure we could have won the game if we had played eleven against eleven until the end. I don't think North Korea were the overmatched opponents that many thought they were, so I'm disappointed that we lost." Referee Dione Rissios Durándie also played her part in the defeat. "If the referees had been better, we could have scored more," said the St. Poelten player.

Caught on the wrong foot
In their second appearance in a row against a top Asian team, the underdogs got off to a false start in the Estadio Atanasio Girardot. After just over two minutes, Hyang was able to finish from a free position in the penalty area and hit the ball into the corner of the net, unstoppable for Austria goalkeeper Mariella El Sherif. This did not come as a shock to the Austrians, who responded promptly. First, Greta Spinn stumbled over a top chance alone in front of the North Korean goalkeeper (4'), then a header from Sarah Gutmann landed on the bar (6'). Chance number three led to success. A free-kick cross from Ojukwu was headed into the goal by the 18-year-old Mädl in the near corner.

As the first half progressed, the North Koreans gained a clear advantage. Choe Il Son missed the target after a fine individual move (21) and Gutmann was just able to clear a header from Kim on the line for the beaten El Sherif (27). Two minutes later, the underdogs weakened themselves. Ojukwu criticized the referee and was shown the yellow card after a foul early in the game. It was the first exclusion of her young career and the first in the World Cup so far.

Another brief hope
This made the task even more difficult, with the system changing from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-1. El Sherif was able to save a Hyang header (35'), but the Germany international was unable to make a decisive save from another shot by the outstanding striker. After the restart, the ÖFB team's hopes of a sensation were quickly buried. The North Koreans crossed the ball four times from a free-kick and then set up Chae Un Yong, whose cross was pushed over the line by Kim from close range.

A chipped cross from Choe Kang Ryon hit the crossbar (60'). Out of nowhere, Hackl's team made it 2:3 when El Sherif headed a free-kick from the halfway line into his own goal. This created suspense once again, but not for long. Captain Chae moved into the middle, was not attacked enough and scored into the corner. Pak provided the final goal in stoppage time with an energetic performance. The North Koreans will continue their quarter-final against Brazil in Medellin on Sunday.