Korea to warm up for Asiad at 2010 Peace Queen cup

By Yoon Chul

The South Korean women’s football team has the opportunity to show how it has improved in front of domestic fans.

The 3rd Peace Queen Cup Suwon 2010, an international event hosted by FIFA, starts on Sunday at Suwon World Cup Stadium.

England, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan will compete in two groups. The winner of each group after the round robin competition will meet in the final at the same venue on Oct. 23.

Korea, which is preparing its gold medal challenge for the Asian Games in November, can test its strategies and form ahead of the competition.

Among the Korean squad, Ji So-yun, who scored eight goals in the FIFA U-20 World Cup earning the silver ball and silver boot awards, will receive the most attention.

“It is time for the older team members to put on a good performance,” national team manager Choi In-cheul said.

Choi, who led the U-20 women’s team to third place in the World Cup in August, takes charge of his first international match as the head of the national team.

Korean women’s football is rising, with teams finishing third in the U-20 World Cup and winning the U-17 World Cup.

“Now women’s football is attracting a lot of attention,” Ji said. “I want to show an impressive performance in this event,” he added.

To have a chance of winning Korea has finish top in Group A, after matches against New Zealand and England.

The 21st ranked Koreans’ first game is at the Suwon World Cup Stadium against New Zealand (ranked 24th) on Sunday and then England (9th) at Suwon Sports Complex, Tuesday.

Players to watch out for are Mexico’s veteran forward Maribel Dominguez and Australian striker Kathryn Gill, who is expected to show her prowess in front of goal.

The winner of the competition will earn $200,000 in prize money and the runner up, $50,000.