[Audience. Photo Credit to Pixabay]

The Korean women's national soccer team's World Cup kick-off match, Korea vs. Haiti, was held at Seoul World Cup Stadium, ending in Korea's victory 2-1 on July 8th, 2023.

Ahead of the 2023 Women's World Cup, which opens in Australia and New Zealand on July 20th, Korea played its final warm up match with a team  consisting of Hwa-yeon Son and Yuri Choi as the side’s two top players and Geumin Lee, Sohyun Cho, and Soyeon Ji in midfield.

The match against Haiti was a customized mock test in preparation for the game against Colombia, which will be held on July 25th, 2023 (Local time) 

An uneasy first half continued, but the Korean national team's atmosphere changed in the second half.

During the first half, the Korean national team struggled blocking Haiti's attacking strategy based on  their superior strength and height. 

Haiti continuously aimed for an opportunity through their long passes, aiming for the backspace, relying on their strength in a physical fight.

Thus the Korean national team struggled as the Haitian side bypassed the strong Korean midfield. 

In the 15th minute of the first half, Haiti scored the first goal in a one-on-one chance with the goalkeeper.

Then, coach Colin Bell immediately changed the game by changing the defense from a three-at-the-back to a four-at-the-back formation.

The Korean national team concentrated on being accustomed to coach Bell’s new tactics  and So Yeon Ji finally scored the equalizer in the second half.

After Korea's glorious victory in the match, coach Bell stated that he appreciated the great audience's cheering on the Korean national team at the stadium, and that he would surely repay them with a good game in Australia.

The 2023 FIFA Australia/New Zealand Women's World Cup will be held from July 20th to August 20th, 2023.

The top 2 teams in the group stage will advance to the Round of 16.

Korea plans to go to the tournament by earning points off Colombia and Morocco to reduce   the pressure in the match against their strong group opponent, Germany.

Korea, ranked 17th in the FIFA rankings, competes against Colombia (25th), Morocco (72nd) Germany (2nd) in Group H of the group stage.

Korea, who won a pleasant victory in their friendlies, can happily participate in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

The Korean women's soccer team prepared for this year’s World Cup with high-intensity training for nearly four years. 

High intensity, "Challenge high and strong," is well known as the team’s cheering slogan for this World Cup.

Coach Bell said in the interview, "The beginning of the game was not good for us. It took time to stabilize. We did well in the second half." I think that it all resulted from our high-intensity training." 

He also stated that he emphasized high endurance and active play in his game.

As Coach Bell's statement above underscored, the Korean national team is determined to show their endless physical strength until the tournament’s end.

The women's soccer team, led by head coach Colin Bell, entered Sydney, Australia, through Incheon International Airport on July 11th, about ten days before the opening of the 2023 Australia-New Zealand Women's World Cup.

Before the Women's national team departed from the Incheon airport, Coach Bell stated that all the players were looking forward to the World Cup stage and would use his fighting spirit to achieve his target goal. 

After the arrival at Sydney, Coach Bell stated that "My first goal is to win against Colombia," and expressed a prudent stance, saying, "Because even if I beat Colombia, passing the group stage is not guaranteed, I will concentrate on playing every game."

Unlike coach Bell, who is more cautious, the Korean national team players are strongly determined to write a new history by not aiming for the Round of 16, but the quarterfinals. 

All Korean soccer fans expect the players trained under "high-intensity soccer" led by coach Bell to achieve the best results at the 2023 World Cup.