By Yi Whan-woo
Korea Times intern

South Korea forward Ji So-yun shone with her goal, the one and only for her team, which was declared the “Goal of the Day,” in a disappointing 5-1 defeat to Germany at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup semifinals in Bochum, Germany, Thursday.

The 19-year-old star’s aspiration to win a first-ever international title for South Korea may have ended here, but Ji was strong enough to prove herself a symbol for the future of women’s football.

The relentless striker faced taller and stronger opponents, who with the support of their home fans, led 4-0 in the second half. Ji’s tireless play paid off at last as she found the net in the 64th minute by dribbling past three defenders, and directed her shot past the helpless goalkeeper Desiree Schumann. The striker had been well contained by the Germans until then, being unable to find much space, but was able to score a consolation goal for her side, and deny the hosts a clean sheet.

Ji burst into tears as the final whistle blew, which brought home the fact that her team missed their chance to appear as one of the finalists, but her fans focused on her future potential rather than the discouragement from the biggest loss in this tournament.

She still stands in second place for the tournament’s top scorer after netting her seventh goal, and is eager to try and go ahead of German striker Alexandra Popp who has nine in the third place match. Ji has been named as one of the 10 candidates for the Golden Ball, awarded to the player of the tournament, along with Popp and is willing to cause an upset. Popp maintained her top spot as she scored in the 50th and 67th minutes.

Despite the defeat, the South Korean squad was praised by local fans for its historic campaign to reach the semifinals for the first time in women’s football and the nation’s third appearance in the final four including the men’s competitions, and for overcoming a lack of experience.

Germany, the 2004 tournament champions and two-time third-place finisher in 2002 and 2008, drew its entire squad from Bundesliga clubs, while all 21 of the South Korean players are college athletes. The juniors played a 4-4-2 formation as in the previous matches and tried to employ its tactics of passing along the ground to overcome their height disadvantage. The weather conditions saw them struggle to control the ball and keep possession as the youngsters were not used to the rain-soaked turf. The passes were intercepted by the more skillful Europeans, letting them celebrate with a string of goals.

South Korea spearheaded by Ji will take on Colombia to determine the third place finisher on August 1, while Germany seeks to continue its impressive run in the final against Nigeria on the same day.