S. Korea loses to Australia 0-2 in Olympic qualifier

Members of the Australian football team celebrate after scoring their first goal in the 56th second against South Korea during the Asian women’s Olympic football qualifying match at Yanmar Stadium Nagai in Osaka, Japan, Friday. / Yonhap

By John Duerden

South Korea's women are unlikely to be joining the men in Rio when the football tournament at the 2016 Olympics takes place.

The chances of qualification received a major setback on Friday evening with a 2-0 loss to Australia in Osaka. Six nations play each other once with the two teams that earn the most points going to the Rio carnival of sport.

With two points from three games, South Korea needs to defeat both China and Vietnam next week and hope that other results are advantageous and even that may not be enough.

It was always going to be tough against Australia. The Matildas shocked the host Japan by defeating the 2011 world champion 3-1 in the opening game and then thrashed Vietnam 9-0. Compared to those six points, South Korea had two, from 1-1 ties against North Korea and Japan.

A win was necessary but the Koreans fell behind after just 45 seconds and from then, it was a real uphill battle. Lisa De Vanna advanced on goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi and while her shot came back off the woodwork, there was Kyah Simon to shoot home the rebound. Twelve minutes later, it got worse.

There was a foul on De Vanna in the area and there was Emily Van Egmond to score from the penalty spot. An uphill battle then became almost mission impossible against a physically strong and aggressive opposition.

The game then settled down but the Australians had the cushion and were content to let Korea make most of the running. Jung Seol-bin had scored both of Korea's two goals so far and gave the Aussie defense some issues. Jeon Ga-eul came close especially midway through the first half when she shot at the Aussie goalkeeper but was unable to beat the number one to the rebound.

Ji So-yun, the team's star who plays her club football for Chelsea in England, did her best to create chances for her colleagues but it just never really happened. The fact that the East Asians managed just one shot on target in 90 minutes tells its own story.

Unlike the DPRK, Japan and China, South Korea has never been a global power in women's football and the odds were stacked against them from the start. In each game, the team has competed but defensive mistakes have proven to be costly.

Next comes China, another strong opponent. Nothing less than a victory on Monday will do ahead of the final game against Vietnam. Even three points against the Steel Roses is not likely to make much difference. South Korea is almost certainly not going to Brazil but as a learning process, the last few days have been valuable.