The Chinese women’s football team suffered a 1-2 defeat in their opening game of the Asian qualifying match for the Paris Olympic Games against North Korea. The match took place on October 26 at the Bailu Stadium in Xiamen.
Ahead of the game, the Chinese team’s head coach, Shui Qingxia, made significant lineup adjustments. Overseas players Zhang Linyan and Li Mengwen were left out of the starting lineup. However, the North Korean team wasted no time in taking the lead, with player Cheng Xiangxin scoring within five minutes of the game. The Chinese team struggled to cope with the pressure from their opponents throughout the match and only managed their first shot in the 30th minute.
During halftime, the Chinese women’s football team made changes to their lineup, bringing on Zhang Linyan and Yan Jinjin as substitutes. Their efforts paid off in the 49th minute when a cross ball created chaos in the North Korean team’s penalty area, leading to Yan Jinjin’s equalizing goal. However, their joy was short-lived as North Korea’s Han Jinhong scored the winning goal through a solo effort.
Following their defeat, the Chinese women’s team’s chances of qualifying as the top of Group B are slim. They will now have to focus on winning their remaining two games and aim to advance to the next stage as the second-best team among the three groups.
In another match in the same group, South Korea convincingly defeated Thailand with a remarkable 10-1 scoreline, earning them three points and a goal difference of nine.
The Chinese women’s football team’s next match will be against Thailand on October 29.
Original title: The Chinese women’s football team lost 1:2 to the North Korean women’s football team in the first match of the Paris Olympics preliminaries