South Korea need a miracle to advance to the Women’s World Cup – but how dangerous is their final group opponent for the German team?
Realism reigns in the South Korean camp. Nobody really believes in miracles. And such a miracle would be necessary, because only with a big victory over the favourites Germany is a place in the last 16 still possible. And yet, coach Colin Bell’s team will not give up.
The Englishman, who led 1. FFC Frankfurt to Champions League triumph in 2014, is demonstratively confident and at least wants to win: “The term miracle is always very broad. We have a small chance of winning, and I believe we can pull off a sensation, because we can do more than we have shown so far.”
Among his players, the mood swings between disappointment and hope. The negative reactions in the domestic media, who are treating this World Cup as a secondary matter anyway and now fear an embarrassingly high defeat against the DFB team, are visibly putting pressure on their mental state.
On the other hand, Germany’s defeat against Colombia has ensured that a spark of optimism has emerged. In any case, a World Cup exit will end the era of a golden generation. Several players will retire, including record goal scorer So-Yun Ji.