England’s Lionesses have faced the Korean Republic on two occasions; both were over 10 years ago and things are very different in the women’s game.
Back in October 2010, England were held to a goalless tie in the Women’s Peace Cup and again in 2011 when Sue Smith scored twice to grant England the 2-0 win in the Cyprus Cup.
Korea are currently 15th in the FIFA rankings as a side possess strong talent seen in the English top flight Geum-Min Lee and Ye-eun Park both play for Brighton and Hove Albion. Captain So-hyun Cho joined Tottenham in 2020 after a spell at West Ham, while So-Yun Ji spent eight years with Chelsea from 2014 to 2022.
Style of play:
Korea have a very specific style of play that could punish England for a momentary lapse in concentration. Korea play with an intelligence that will see them wriggle out of tight, enclosed spaces with ease and confidence. A supremely technical side that limits them to a three-touch maximum as not to invite the physical challenge.
In previous years, the lack of physicality in their game has hindered their success however their touch, pass and move at a fast pace has seen Korea climb the FIFA ranks. When partnered with an incredibly intense and high press, we could see England suffer with no time on the ball playing out from the back.
Modest technical abilities grace the Korean Republic side, there was one backheel to set up a shot against NZ but nothing like Alessia Russo’s audacious semi-final backheel against Sweden.
Despite a smaller stature in general there is an insistence to get the ball down on the deck and play but be fair warned when given too much space they can fire a ball into dangerous areas from outside the box.
Last time out:
In their last international break in November, the Taegeuk Ladies travelled to New Zealand to take on the Women’s World Cup hosts back to back. They were victorious in the first meeting, Lee Min-a with the only goal of the game, sneaking into the blind spot of the defender and beating her to a free ball before the defender could respond.
In the second meet, it was a 1-1 draw after Ye-Eun Park’s effort took a slight deflection and beat the New Zealand goalkeeper Victoria Esson in their favoured 4-3-3 formation enabling that high press deep into their opponents' defensive third.
Korea also held the top-ranked side, the USA, to a goalless tie last year. Disciplined to ball chase, they swarmed the USA’s back line with two-to-four players at any given time in a heavy, high press for the entirety of the game while also proving ruthless on the counter, Choe Yu-ri has impeccable pace up-top for Korea and will punish any hesitation in the back line.
Tactics England could use:
England have China in their World Cup group stages and Korea offer a similar style of play as suggested in their 1-1 draw in the EAFF E-1 championship final in July last year. Yu-ri gave Korea the lead early on but Linlin Wang equalised for China. The game was outstandingly close with 51-49% possession in favour of China with 380 passes, 9 shots on goal one on target to Korea’s 375 passes, 10 shots on goal, one on target.
While getting in the face of the Korean Republic players may be tiring, it could grant England valuable seconds as they tend to go to ground and put their entire body behind the ball in a side tackle, which buys precious milli-seconds to gain the advantage. Likewise, England could look to play an aerial game to expose Korea’s weakness when preparing for World Cup opponents.
This game could be where England manager Sarina Wiegman could opt for rotation and experimentation within her squad. Laura Coombs and Georgia Stanway are strong, ‘in your face’ players which could benefit England in the latter stages of the game against a tiring Korean side.
The invitation to partake in the Arnold Clark Cup is no doubt a preparatory move for Sarina Wiegman’s side to feel out the Asian style of play 10 years on from their last meet.
A potential England starting line up against the Korean Republic:
The fullbacks have pace and are both happy to attack whilst charging back and defending, the centre-backs in Wubben-Moy and Greenwood play fantastic over-the-top through balls to the striker and have done several times this season, taking advantage of the aerial game.
Walsh matches this game with her vision and technical ability but I enjoyed watching Williamson push up into the midfield role against Belgium before the Euros.
Kelly and Hemp are full of energy and have a lot of pace, they can keep up with a high-energy press and reciprocate but are also threatening on the attack.
Toone has had an incredible season in the number 10 role, happiest when she’s free to roam and impact play with the second-highest amount of assists domestically this season.
Russo is overpowering and getting in the tight spaces up top, not only does she have a height advantage but is happy to work hard and press the ball out of possession.
Potential Subsitutions: Maya Le Tissier for Wubben-Moy for experience, Stanway, Coombs or Katie Zelem to come on and change the dynamic in the middle of the park when the opposition fatigues. Also, Ebony Salmon in for Russo in the latter stages of the game - for her unmatched pace to capitalise on the aerial through ball.
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