South Korea women's national football team
The Republic of Korea women's national football team (, recognized as Korea Republic by FIFA) represents South Korea in international women's football competitions. South Korean women's team has qualified for three FIFA World Cups, in 2003, 2015, and 2019 (their best result is round of 16 in 2015). History. 1949–2002: The beginning. Less than a year after the government of the Republic of Korea was established in 1948, the first official women's football matches were held in Seoul on 28 and 29 June 1949, as a part of the National  Girls' and Women's Sport Games. While women's basketball and volleyball won public recognition through the Games, football was seen as being unsuitable for women and as being unattractive to the public; as a result, the girls' teams were disbanded soon after the event. When women's football was officially adopted at the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, the South Korean sports authorities decided to form a women's team with athletes from other sports and send the team to the Games. The result was defeat in all matches against Japan, North Korea, China and Chinese Taipei. Nevertheless, colleges  and corporations started to launch women's football teams through the 1990s and the first annual national women's football event, the Queen's Cup, was held in 1993. With these changes, South Korea was able to finish in fourth place at the 1995 AFC Women's Championship in Malaysia. When the 1999 Women's World Cup sparked interest worldwide, the South Korean ministry in charge of sports sponsored the foundation of new teams and tournaments for girls’ high school teams, university teams and company teams. To promote women's football, the Korea Women's Football Federation (KWFF) was established  in March 2001, as an independent organization in association with the Korea Football Association (KFA). 2003–2013: First World Cup and a period of decline. South Korea finished in third place at the 2003 AFC Women's Championship and qualified for the World Cup for the first time. The "Taegeuk Ladies" were drawn in Group B with Norway, France and Brazil. Their first match played at the World Cup was a 3–0 loss to Brazil on 21 September 2003. They went on to lose 1–0 to France and 7–1 to Norway. Kim Jin-hee scored the first ever South Korean World  Cup goal on 27 September 2003 against Norway. Despite winning the inaugural EAFF E-1 Football Championship on home soil in 2005, South Korea failed to qualify for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup. The "Taegeuk Ladies" won bronze at the 2010 Asian Games and at the 2010 EAFF Women's Football Championship, but once again failed to qualify for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. 2014–present: Second World Cup and rise. South Korea finished in fourth place at the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup and qualified for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, where they  made it out of the group stage for the first time. They were drawn in Group E with Brazil, Spain and Costa Rica. South Korea lost 2–0 to Brazil on 9 June 2015, but a 2–2 draw with Costa Rica on 13 June and a 2–1 victory against Spain on 17 June were enough to progress for the first time ever at a World Cup. They went on to lose 3–0 to France in the round of 16 on 21 June 2015. 2019 World Cup: Third World Cup. Coming off a somewhat successful showing at the previous one, South Korea  qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup and were put in Group A with France, Norway and Nigeria. However, they could not repeat their prior success in 2015 and lost all three games and exited the tournament in the group stage, only scoring one goal in their entire run and even an own goal. Team image. Nicknames. The South Korea women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as the "Taegeuk Ladies" (). Kits and crest. The women's team usually use exactly the same kit as its men counterpart, along with the combinations available. However, there  were many combinations that the men's team never used. Rivalries. Japan. The South Korea and Japan national football teams are sporting rivals. FIFA World Ranking. , "after the match against ." Results and fixtures. The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. Coaching staff. Manager history. , "after the match against ". Players. Current squad. The following 23 players were named to the squad for the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup. "Caps and goals correct as of 30 November 2021 against ." Recent call-ups. The following players  have been called up to the South Korea squad in the past 12 months. Records. "*Active players in bold, statistics as of 9 February 2020". Competitive record. Champions   Runners-up   Third place   Fourth place   Algarve Cup. The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and longest-running women's international football events and has been nicknamed the "Mini FIFA Women's World Cup". South Korea women's national football