Korea DPR will face a spirited France side in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Grand Final tomorrow afternoon. The match is set to kick off at 7:30pm at the National Football Stadium.
Since the start of the competition, Korea DPR has been dominant all throughout.
They breezed through the group stages, winning all their matches. Their opening match was played on a Sunday afternoon at the Sir John Guise Stadium, where they confidently beat Sweden, 2 goals to nil. After kick starting their campaign on a high note, they were quite confident heading into their next match against Brazil.
In that match they scored four goals, and went on to beat Brazil 4-2; this put them on top in the group stage. Their last match was against Papua New Guinea.
Coach, Hwang Yongbong fielded most of his reserves in this match. Papua New Guinea scored their only goal in the tournament against Korea DPR. Korea DPR went on to win the match 7-1.
In the Quarter-finals it was a hard fought match against Spain, going all through to extra time. Korea DPR managed to pull though with a goal in extra time to face USA in the Semi-finals.
The Semi Finals was a nail-biter, as the match also went into extra time. USA was left devastated after Korea DPR scored a quick goal in the first half of extra time to secure their spot in the Grand Final.
As for team France, they were placed in group C with Ghana, New Zealand and USA. Their first match was against USA, where they ended the match in a nil all draw.
Their second match also ended in a 2-all draw against the Black Princesses from Ghana. France’s defensive mistakes resulted in the draw. Their last match in the group stage was against New Zealand, after the first two matches they needed a win to proceed onto the quarterfinals, in which they did in style, beating New Zealand 2-nil.
They went into the finals as underdogs but shocked the world when they beat Germany 1-nil in the quarter finals. Team France heading into the Semi Finals against one of the most attacking team in the tournament, Japan, were the favourites to win.
The match heading into extra time saw two quick goals in the space of 2 minutes by the French team to see them through to the Finals.
This is a remarkable milestone for team France to make it all through to the finals for the first time. Korea DPR will play the Asian style of football tomorrow while France will be strong in defence.
Korea DPR has won all five of their games in Papua New Guinea, scoring 18 goals and conceding only six. The France side has less impressive statistics but is confident.
