KOR
▲ South Korea's Yoon Soo-jung scores an equalizing goal during the women's football group stage match between South Korea and North Korea at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa in Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, on the 21st.
Yoon Soo-jung (24, Suwon FC Women), a newcomer with only 5 caps for the women's national football team, has left a strong impression by delivering a crucial blow to secure valuable points against formidable opponent North Korea.
Yoon scored the equalizing goal just 1 minute into the second half—precisely 48 seconds after the restart—bringing South Korea level to a 1-1 draw in the third match of Group F against North Korea at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held today at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa in Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Yoon is a flank attacker who was selected for the senior national team for the first time this year, playing her 5th A-match today.
She had never been selected for age-group national teams and did not stand out significantly, having been selected outside the draft rounds by Changnyeong WFC in the 2024 WK League rookie draft.
Even after transferring to Suwon FC last year without any notable performances, she earned an opportunity in May this year during the AFC Women's Champions League (AWCL) semifinal against North Korea's Naegohyang Women's Football Club held in Suwon, drawing attention with her flashing movements utilizing her speed.
This led to her first selection for the senior national team in June, where she scored her debut goals with a multi-goal performance against Chinese Taipei at the EAFF E-1 Championship, which was her second A-match.
Just 3 months later, she competed in her first-ever Asian Games and even scored a goal.
South Korea, which trails significantly in head-to-head records against women's football powerhouse North Korea with 1 win, 5 draws, and 16 losses including today's match, last scored against North Korea—excluding an opponent own goal—9 years ago in April 2017 during the AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers (a 1-1 draw, goal scored by Jang Seul-gi).
National team head coach Shin Sang-woo explained, "Yoon Soo-jung is a player who can create a turning point. If we hadn't conceded in the first half, I would have used the starting members a bit longer, but after conceding, we needed a change to turn things around. Because Yoon has shown good form, I boldly deployed her as a game-changer."
Evaluated as having good speed enabling various breakthroughs and strong attacking sense, Yoon quickly penetrated deep into the penalty area the moment Choo Yu-ri delivered a pass during the scoring scene, firing a shot without hesitation.
Meeting reporters in the mixed zone after the match, Yoon credited others, saying, "As soon as I went in, Yuri unnie gave me a great ball. I didn't expect it to go like that either, but she passed the ball nicely into the space I was moving toward, leading to a good touch and allowing me to score a goal."
Reflecting on the match, she stated, "Having experienced the AWCL match against Naegohyang, I knew what style North Korean players have, so today felt a bit more comfortable." She added, "Our national team analysts did a great job analyzing, and the unnies helped me out, so I was able to play comfortably."
Introducing herself as "a player who seems ordinary, but is not ordinary," Yoon expressed her determination: "I like the 'attacking style' of Yuri unnie, who is also on my club team. Unnie has outstanding speed and a great personality, so I want to learn a lot from her. I will continue to grow as a player."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
