On Thursday, South Korea and Germany will battle it out at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium as both sides aim to reach the last 16 of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
With one group game remaining, second-placed Germany trail Colombia by three points in Group H, while South Korea find themselves rock bottom and without a single point to their name.
"Gotcha!" 🫵WIR #IMTEAM 🇩🇪 #FIFAWWC #GER 📸 DFB/Sofieke van Bilsen pic.twitter.com/RVQu5cVgwh— DFB-Frauen (@DFB_Frauen) August 1, 2023
"Gotcha!" 🫵WIR #IMTEAM 🇩🇪 #FIFAWWC #GER 📸 DFB/Sofieke van Bilsen pic.twitter.com/RVQu5cVgwh
A draw would be enough to send Germany into the knockout phase, but South Korea must record a high-scoring victory in order to progress.
South Korea have lost each of their two games at this year’s World Cup, falling to Colombia and Morocco while failing to find the back of the net.
Following a 2-0 defeat against Colombia in their opening match, the South Koreans suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of Morocco last time out.
Despite racking up 63% possession and 16 shots against Morocco, South Korea failed to register a solitary attempt on target last weekend.
Having lost each of their previous six Women’s World Cup encounters, the South Koreans will need to perform a minor miracle if they are to advance to the last 16.
Germany, meanwhile, kicked off their World Cup campaign with a 6-0 thrashing of Morocco, racking up 16 shots while enjoying 75% possession.
Alexandra Popp bagged a brace in the rout, while the Moroccans gifted the Germans two own goals, with Klara Buhl and Lea Schuller completing the scoring.
However, Germany conceded a 97th-minute goal on Sunday to suffer a shock 2-1 defeat to Colombia, despite notching 68% possession and 14 shots.
That said, the Germans have scored in each of their previous 34 competitive matches, so they will back themselves to dispatch South Korea.
Head-to-head: Thursday’s clash is the first-ever meeting between South Korea and Germany, meaning there are no previous results to analyse for this fixture.
Team news: South Korea manager Colin Bell is expected to deploy a 3-5-2 formation, with Son Hwa-yeon and Park Eun-sun occupying the forward line.
The Germans will likely continue with their favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, meaning Alexandra Popp will lead the line as she looks to add to her tally of three goals.
Although Germany slipped up against Colombia last time out, the two-time Women’s World Cup champions shouldn’t struggle to get past South Korea.
Forebet predicts that Germany will make light work of South Korea, scoring over 2.5 goals while keeping a clean sheet.