South Korea 3-0 Iran
By Emma Burke 2/3/26
Above: Choe Yu-ri (left) and Fatemeh Shaban. Photo: AFC Asian Cup
South Korea have comfortably opened their account at the Women’s Asian Cup, defeating Iran 3-0 on the Gold Coast with goals scored by Choe Yu-Ri, Kim Hye-Ri, and Ko Yoo-Jin.
Despite what looked like a low crowd number, the fans of both sides made enough noise to make it feel like Gold Coast Stadium was packed to the rafters.
Sitting low with five players in their backline, Iran was able to keep South Korea at bay until the 37th minute, when an injury to Afsaneh Chatrenoor lead to Iran going down a player, opening up space for South Korea.
A beautiful link up between South Korea allowed a shot on goal that then ricocheted off the post for Choe Yu-Ri to collect and put away.
Early in the second half Iran had one of the best chances of the game, when they broke through against the run of play, allowing Fatemeh Pasandideh an opportunity to take a shot on goal, which was unfortunately sent directly at Kim Min-Jung in goal.
South Korea’s second goal came through a penalty, after Melika Motevalli made a poor challenge in the box against Lee Eun-Young.
Kim Hye-Ri converted the spot kick, sending the ball into the bottom right corner, marking only her second goal for her country in 138 appearances.
The final goal of the game came through a set piece play, won for South Korea by substitute Song Jae-Eun in their attacking half.
Delivered in expertly by goal-scorer Kim Hye-Ri, the ball found the head of Ko Yoo-Jin who only needed a glancing touch to it to direct it into the back of the net.
Despite losing 3-0, Iran’s defensive record still stands out, having faced 40 recorded shots.
This result now places South Korea at the top of Group A, and leaves Iran at the bottom due to the number of goals conceded.
South Korea (4-4-2): Kim Min-Jung, Ko Yoo-Jin, Mun Eun-Ju, Ji So-Yun, Choe Yu-Ri, Jung Min-Young, Jang Sel-Gi, Choi Yoo-Jung, Noh Jin-Young, Kim Hye-Ri, Kang Chae-Rim Substitutes: Woo Seo-Bin, Kim Jin-Hui, Park Hye-Jeong, Shin Na-Yeong, Casey Phair, Son Hwa-Yeon, Kim Shin-Ji, Song Jae-Eun, Park Soo-Jeong, Ryu Ji-Soo, Choo Hyo-Joo, Lee Eun-Young, Lee Min-Hwa, Kim Min-Ji
Scorers: Choe Yu-Ri 37′, Kim Hye-Ri 59′, Ko Yoo-Jin 75′
Iran (5-4-1): Yektaei, Imani, Motevalli, Sarbali, Chatrenoor, Behesht, Ghanbari, Amineh, Makhdoumi, Shaban, Jafari Substitutes: Yazdani, Ramezanizadeh, Ahmadizadeh, Pasandideh, Dini, Zolfi, Sadeghi, Tamrian, Didar, Khosravi, Khajavi, Hamoudi, Anbari, Taherkhani
Referee: Veronika Bernatskaia (Kyrgyzstan)
Attendance: 2,874.
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