▲ Cho Hye-young scores the opening goal
South Korea's national team kicked off their campaign at the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup with a draw against powerhouse France, boosting their chances of advancing to the round of 16.
Led by head coach Park Yoon-jung, the South Korean squad tied 1-1 with France in their Group C opening match of the tournament held at Arena Sosnowiec in Sosnowiec, Poland.
The national team took the lead in the 12th minute of the first half with a goal by Cho Hye-young (Korea University).
After Han Min-seo (Korea University) intercepted a pass in the French half and delivered a forward pass, Cho fired a right-footed shot from the right side of the penalty area.
The ball deflected off a French defender's foot, looped over the goalkeeper, and went into the net.
However, South Korea missed out on a victory after conceding an equalizer to Naolia Traoré from a mid-range shot in the 36th minute of the first half.
South Korea is currently tied with France for second place in Group C.
In the other match of the same group, Ecuador cruised past Ghana with a 3-0 victory to take the top spot.
In this tournament, 24 countries are divided into six groups of four teams each for the group stage. The top two teams from each group, along with the four best third-place teams among all groups, will advance to the round of 16 to determine the champion through a knockout format.
By drawing with France, widely regarded as the strongest team in Group C, South Korea has increased its prospects of reaching the round of 16.
South Korea's best-ever finish in this tournament is third place at the 2020 tournament in Germany.
(Photo courtesy of Korea Football Association, Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.