Ji So-yun, a South Korean midfielder, expressed her desire to make her mark on what is probably her last Women’s World Cup. She aims to extend her record as the all-time leading scorer and lead her team to the later stages of the tournament.
Ji, who recently joined Suwon FC after a successful eight-year stint at Chelsea, has scored 66 goals for her country since her debut in 2006. However, she has only managed to score one goal in the World Cup so far, which was a penalty against Costa Rica in a group stage match in 2015.
South Korea will start their journey against Colombia on July 25, followed by matches against Morocco and former champions Germany at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, which will take place from July 20 to August 20.
“I’ve been with more than half of the girls here for over 10 years, and this could be the final World Cup for our generation,” Ji was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency on Monday.
“I want to enjoy this as much as I can, and try to take the team as deep as possible. I’ve only scored penalty goals at the World Cup, and I’d like to score one from the field … I will really push for a goal at this World Cup.”
“Everyone here is really driven and motivated, and the coach is pleased with what he’s seen. I think we’re very well prepared physically.”
South Korea is set to participate in their third consecutive World Cup and fourth overall. However, they have only managed to progress to the knockout stage once, during the 2015 tournament in Canada, where they reached the round of 16.
In the 2019 tournament held in France, they faced defeat in all three group games and were able to score only one goal.
“I want to bring better results than in 2019,” Ji said. “We’re ready for that. I hope you can see how good we are.”
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