#afc wcl

For the first time in over a decade, a North Korean team (Naehgohyang FC) and a South Korean team (Suwon FC) face each on Korean soil, specifically Suwon in South Korea. (Suwon--the city--also happens to be the host for both the semi-finals and final matches of the tournament.)

Suwon FC dominate during the first half, though the match reaches the half-time break with the scoreline at nil-nil.

At the start of the second half, the match is a bit more even, but Suwon finally get their well-deserved goal early in the half. It was such a good, well-worked goal too, though Naehgohyang's defenders could have done better.

Just a few minutes after that, however, Naehgohyang respond with a goal to draw the match. (At this point, I was a bit disappointed at Suwon. All that dominance in the first half with no goal to show for it, then finally getting a goal in the second half only to give up the lead only a few minutes after.)

The match is now at an exciting 1-1 draw with both teams fighting for the winner. Then about half-way into the second half, just as I thought Suwon was dominating again, Naehgohyang score another goal, getting the lead and flipping the momentum of the match.

But then a few minutes later, VAR calls for a review of some incident in the Naehgohyang penalty area and the ref awards Suwon a penalty. Yay for Suwon, and even better: their penalty taker is none other than the legend Ji So-Yun who also happens to be their captain. But the football deities have decided Ji So-Yun does not have plot armour in this tournament and she misses. (You could see it affected her a lot too, though she quickly gathered herself with her teammates putting their arms around her.)

Suwon continue fighting for an equalizer after that, and they almost came close a couple of times but not quite really, and the match ends with Naehgohyang, a North Korean team, winning over a South Korean team in the South Korean team's home town.

Football drama really just writes itself, and many times in ways you don't expect because:

Suwon were the favourites of this match-up

Suwon was dominating that match at first and you wouldn't have expected Naehgohyang to get an equalizer and when they did Suwon still looked more likely to take the lead again

And last but not least, who would have thought that Ji So-Yun, one of the most solid penalty takers I know, who has scored many penalties in the highest levels of the game, would miss a penalty? it's Ji So-Yun! (I'm actually really gutted for her though 😭)

PS: Naehgohyang advances to the final to face Tokyo Verdy Beleza, who happened to have easily dispatched Melbourne City earlier in the day. (Mind you, this was a Melbourne City who has finally gained my respect because they finally managed to win the A-League Championship instead of falling at the last hurdle like in the previous 2 seasons.)