Women’s World Cup: Second Place is Up for Grabs Between Colombia and South Korea

Colombia vs Korea Republic

With Germany being the favourites to top Group H of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, this match between Colombia and South Korea will be crucial in determining who will claim the other top two spot.

Germany are expected to beat Morocco on Monday given their gap in the FIFA women’s rankings. Germany are the second-ranked team in the world, while Morocco are no. 72.

On the other hand, South Korea and Colombia aren’t far off from each other, with the former at no. 17 and the latter at no. 25, so the pre-game SBOTOP betting odds expect a tight matchup between these two on Monday.

Talking Points

Changing of the guard for Colombia

With Catalina Usme already 33 years old and slowly approaching the twilight of her football career, she will look to carry Colombia further than they’ve ever been in, potentially, her final Women’s World Cup.

She is the nation’s top goal scorer of all time with 50 international goals. In club football, Usme is also a proven winner, with two championships with America de Cali in the Colombian league, as well as becoming the leading forward in the Women’s Copa Libertadores, South America’s biggest club tournament.

For the longest time, she and midfield maestro Daniela Montoya have led the way for Colombia. But this time, they’ll have to take a small step back to make way for some of their younger teammates to shine.

One of them is Linda Caicedo, who currently plays for Real Madrid. After her cancer diagnosis three years ago, the 18-year-old has been on a meteoric rise this past year, winning the Bronze Boot and Silver Ball at the 2022 U17 World Cup as well as the Golden Ball playing for the senior team at the Copa America Feminina.

This is going to be her first Women’s World Cup, which gives her an opportunity to share her inspiring story with the world. She will be the x-factor if Colombia are going to make it far in this competition.

Korea Republic eyeing redemption

The Taeguk Ladies are considered one of the dark horses in this tournament, and they are on a mission to do much better than they did in 2019, where they finished at the bottom of Group A with zero points to show after three matches.

Major tournament success has largely evaded South Korea because they didn’t have the talent and experience to make it far. Right now, that might no longer be the case under Colin Bell, as he fields a 23-player squad that mostly features experienced campaigners.

Since his arrival in 2019, the Leicester-born boss has turned South Korea into an aggressive attacking side, guiding them to the Asian Cup final last year, where they lost to China.

One of the main beneficiaries of Bell’s coaching is Ji So-Yun, who is already well known by British fans. The former Chelsea midfielder spent eight seasons in the WSL, winning 13 trophies for the Blues. The 32-year-old is South Korea’s most-capped player with 144 caps and its all-time leading scorer with 66 goals.

Another player to look out for is Choo Hyo-Joo. Despite being only 22 years old, the Suwon FC defender already has 30 caps under her belt, and many see her as the future of South Korean football alongside Bae Ye-Bin and Chun Ga-Ram.

History

Colombia and South Korea are going to square off in the Women’s World Cup for the first time on Monday.

The highest finishes by Colombia and South Korea here at the Women’s World Cup are both in the Round of 16, with Colombia last doing so in 2015 and South Korea in 2019. Colombia didn’t qualify for the 2019 edition of this tournament.

On the other hand, South Korea haven’t won a single game in the group stage since 2015. Their last Women’s World Cup victory was a 2-1 result against Spain in the final group stage matchday, which was enough to finish second behind Brazil in Group E.

In terms of recent form, South Korea have the edge with four wins out of their last five, whereas Colombia have only won one of their last five matches.

Betting Tip

The Women’s World Cup 2023 odds slightly favour Colombia to win, as they’re priced at 2.45, whereas South Korea are at 2.55, and a draw is at 2.95 in the 1X2 market.

With both sides having talented attackers and porous defences, we will see several Women’s World Cup 2023 highlights from this one in the form of goals, making Over 2.50 at 2.14 your best bet.

 

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