South Korea coach looking to build on World Cup run

MONTREAL: South Korea coach Yoon Deok-yeo said he was looking to build on his team’s historic run to the last 16 of the Women’s World Cup in Canada.

The Koreans were knocked out of the tournament in the last 16 on Sunday following a 3-0 defeat to third-ranked France.

But Yoon said that his 18thranked side, who qualified for the women’s tournament by finishing fourth in the Asian Cup, had learned valuable lessons in their four games.

The Koreans were trailing after four minutes when MarieLaure Delie scored the opener in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium with Elodie Thomas adding a second four minutes later.

Delie grabbed a second three minutes after the break to put France through to a lasteight meeting with top-ranked Germany.

“They are a very young team but they can lead our Korean soccer in the future,” said Yoon.

“We did what we could do. In order for us to advance on the global stage the players’ individual skills could be improved.

“That’s our challenge. We don’t have grassroots soccer in Korea we need to build some kind of framework for the future of women’s soccer. We made it to the World Cup for the first time in 12 years and I would like to praise my players for their efforts.

“We have many good players in their 20s this experience is an honour and a joy so they can grow from this participation in the World Cup.”

Yoon added: “It’s a bit early to discuss next World Cup in four years but I’m convinced that these players will play an important role in the future.” - AFP