Hyundai Steel, which missed both the prize money and hope for the world stage, after losing points through '90+4 minutes'
Hyundai Steel, which missed both the prize money and hope for the world stage, after losing points through '90+4 minutes'
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It was a complete defeat.
Incheon Hyundai Steel's journey to the first champion of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League (AWCL) ended in vain in the semifinals. Hyundai Steel, led by head coach Huh Jung-jae, lost 0-1 to Australia's Melbourne City in the semifinals of the 2024-25 tournament held at Wuhan Sports Center in China on the 21st (Korea time).
Even though the team fought well, it collapsed by a single shot. Hyundai Steel slightly fell behind to 43.4 percent of the ball possession rate on the day, but rather, it had an advantage of 13-10 in the number of shots fired. Captain Chang-chang, Yuka Toriumi, and Ko Yu-jin repeatedly threatened the opponent's goal.
However, he still left a regret in his "decision-making ability." Like Huh's diagnosis, which he said at the press conference that "the chance was somewhat insufficient," he failed to take advantage of the opportunities throughout the game. In particular, in the second half, Suzuki Haruhi took the defender's ball from the opponent's side and had a decisive chance to counterattack, but when he saw the goalkeeper come out, his shot turned away from the goal post and hit the ground.
The size of the regret was even greater in that the tight balance of zero was simply broken at the end of the game. Hyundai Steel, which failed to score a goal despite its strong offensive at the end of the game, was hit with all three additional minutes. Shelby McMahon's surprise mid-range shot from the midfield area was sucked into the Hyundai Steel goal. With three more minutes to go, the official goal time record was 90+4 minutes, which was a theater goal.
When the referee's final whistle sounded, the players' expressions were also deeply disappointed. It was a competition that had a lot on its plate, so it was more motivated, but as a result, it missed everything.
She missed out on the prize money worth 500,000 U.S. dollars, which she could have secured by advancing to the final right away. If she advanced to the top, she would have earned 1 million dollars twice as much prize money. However, as she failed to make it to the semifinals, Hyundai Steel had to settle for 120,000 dollars in prize money to advance to the semifinals. Considering the reality of women's soccer, the prize money for this year's championship was a great motivation in itself, but she had to swallow her disappointment due to the loss due to loss of play goals.
He also missed the opportunity to compete in world competitions. The winner of this year's FIFA Women's Champions Cup will be eligible to play as an Asian representative. Coach Huh Jung-jae said earlier, 먹튀검증 "I will do my best to ensure that Korean women's soccer gets an opportunity to challenge itself on the world stage. Maybe I won't have another opportunity to experience it as a coach or a player," displaying strong commitment to participate in the world championship. However, even that opportunity disappeared due to the elimination from the semifinals.