Korea DPR and Japan met in the qualifying stages of this U-17 Women’s World Cup, tonight they will be reunited under the lights of Amman International Stadium with a lot more at stake.
The clash will be historical without even taking the results into consideration. It will be the first time that a nation has won two titles since the tournaments inception. Japan are the only team to have breezed through the competition with five out of five wins but North Korea insit that they have had no challenge or obstacles in their path to the final.
Both teams have exhibited title credentials throughout the campaign, Korea DPR Head Coach Sin Jong Bok believes that the final draw was inevtiable, he stated “before we started this tournament I expected to play against Japan in the final match.”
Captain Fuka Nagano, the only Japanese player that remans from Costa Rica 2014, is thrilled by the set-up of the final, she said “when I found out that we were going to play against Korea DPR in the final I was very happy,”
“We lost in the Asian championship but our team has improved a lot from that time and I want revenge” Nagano added.
Sin Jong Bok believes North Korea to be prepared for what Japan will throw at them, he stated that “I’ve studied them very thoroughly and we will do our best to beat them, we have to be mentally strong.” However, he spoke of uncertainity, something rare from the coach throughout Jordan 2016, “Japan are one of the world’s greatest teams, especially in women’s football. When it comes to match results, I cannot promise you anything,” Bok said.
Between the teams there are seven nominations for the Golden Ball, in addition to this Riko Ueki and Ri Hae-Yon are both in contention for the Golden Boot. The final game will decide more than just the title.
North Korea’s Golden Ball nominated defender, Ri Kum-Hyang, holding off Ghana in the quarter-finals.
