By Yi Whan-woo
Korea Times intern
South Korea beat Colombia 1-0 Sunday, finishing third in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Bielefeld, Germany.
Forward Ji So-yun scored the winning goal in the second half leading the squad to become the first South Korean national team to win the third place in a FIFA-arranged tournament.
Ji, who has emerged as the hope of South Korean football, ended the tournament with the second highest number of goals with eight.
The female juniors who wrote history for South Korea maintained the upper hand over its South American opponents throughout the game. The team showed why they deserved to be highly spotlighted in this competition as Ji notched the goal in the 49th minute.
Ji, one of the 10 candidates named for the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament, sought to add to her to scores. She penetrated as she saw the high ball coming from the back, and did not miss another forward Kwon Eun-som's pass to shoot into the net. The 19-year-old spread her arms wide in celebration when goalkeeper Paula Forero looked helpless as she conceded the goal which decided the fate of the two teams in the end.
Ji and Kwon showed another team play in the early half when Kwon cut the pass from the Colombians and tried to pass it to the striker. The ball, however, was deflected by the defender.
The top-striker on the South Korea side ran to add her tally in order to beat number of nine set by her rival, Alexandra Popp of Germany before the final. Her luck for the top scorer may have ended, as she did not connect her teammates' passes to tie with Popp, but she indeed thrived as a future potential.
While Ji was the star overall in this match, midfielder Kim Na-rae, another player along with Ji to make the list for the Golden Ball, looked most prominent in the first half.
Her free kicks aimed at the opponent's goal several times, and her role was crucial to bring the game to the South Korea side. Kim's kick from the left flank almost led to a goal as midfielder Lee Min-a tried to connect it into the net. The attempt went in vain as the ball bounced back from the goalpost and goalkeeper Paula Fordero threw herself onto the ball for a save.
The Colombians tried to retrieve the game from trailing with an equalizer by bringing out their attackers. However, as the team's top striker, Lady Andrade, made an exit from the tournament in the middle of the second half for her injury, they could not bring about many chances. Andrade, could not fight back tears as she had to sit on the bench and watch her squad giving in.