Australia-New Zealand World Cup ruled out due to cruciate ligament injury
Bell recalls Lee Min-ah for Asian Games results
Lee Min-ah (32, Incheon Hyundai Steel) returns after missing the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia-New Zealand with an ACL injury.
The Korea Football Association announced the 22-player roster for the women’s national soccer team at the Hangzhou Asian Games on Wednesday.
Lee Min-ah’s return stood out among the omission of goalkeeper Yoon Young-gul, 바카라사이트 who announced her retirement, Cho So-hyun, who is currently without a club, and Lee Geum-min (Brighton), Lee Young-joo (CFF Madrid), and Casey Fair (PDA), who are playing overseas.
Lee returned to the national team eight months after being called up for a training camp in Namhae last December.
Born in 1991, Lee is one of the most decorated women’s soccer stars in the world, having scored 17 goals in 76 A-match appearances. She was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) last year after leading Incheon Hyundai Steel to their 10th consecutive WK League title. Lee was expected to play at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand as a “crack” player who could change the course of a game with her dribbling and kicking abilities, but she was sidelined by injury.
Lee suffered an ACL injury in her left knee late last year. As a result, Lee missed the Arnold Clarke Cup in February as well as two exhibition matches against Zambia in April.
When announcing the final roster for the Women’s World Cup last month, head coach Colleen Bell said that Lee Min-ah had not fully recovered from her ACL injury. “I didn’t want to put her through the burden of another injury in the middle of her call-up training after being selected,” Bell said at the press conference announcing the final roster on March 5.
In the end, Lee Min-ah was selected to join the SBS commentary team, working alongside commentators Park Ji-sung and Bae Sung-jae to bring the game to viewers.
Without Lee Min-ah, the South Korean women’s soccer team lacked creativity on offense. Lacking players up front, the team failed to score in the first game against Colombia and the second game against Morocco. They did manage a meaningful finish in a 1-1 draw against Germany in the third round, 온라인카지노 but Lee Min-ah’s absence was significant.
With a bitter taste in his mouth from the World Cup, Bell eventually recalled Lee. Despite the fact that she was still recovering from her injury and it was unclear whether she would be able to regain her match fitness, Bell called her up. With the absence of overseas players, he realized that without Lee Min-ah, the team’s performance would be even more problematic.
The Asian Games is also an important tournament for Bell. Bell signed a new contract with the Korea Football Association in April and will lead the South Korean women’s national team until next December. She will be in charge for both the Hangzhou Asian Games and next year’s Paris Olympics, but a poor showing at the Asian Games after the Women’s World Cup could leave her in limbo.
Bell will need to outperform her previous Asian Games. The women’s soccer team won three consecutive bronze medals from Guangzhou 2010 to Jakarta 2018, but failed to reach the final. A first final appearance under Bell could turn public opinion around.
Bell’s squad, which includes Lee Min-ah, will report to the National Football Training Center (NFC) in Paju for training from June 5 before departing for China on June 19. Women’s soccer at the Asian Games will feature a group stage with 17 teams divided into five groups, followed by an eight-team tournament with the top five teams from each group and the top three teams from the second place. South Korea will open its Group E campaign in Wenzhou against Myanmar, 카지노사이트 the Philippines and Hong Kong on Sept. 22.