S. Korea lose to host Colombia in round of 16 at U-20 Women's World Cup

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Sept. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea lost to the home team Colombia in their first knockout match of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

Linda Caicedo's 64th-minute goal stood as the winner for Colombia in their 1-0 victory in the round of 16 at Estadio Olimpico Pascual Guerrero in Cali, southwest of Bogota, on Wednesday (local time).

South Korea were looking for their first knockout match victory in this U-20 tournament since 2010, when they ended up in third place.

South Korea also reached the quarterfinals in 2012 and 2014, but the tournaments then only featured 16 nations and the knockout stage began with the last eight. South Korea lost their first knockout matches at both competitions.

This year's tournament is the first expanded edition featuring 24 teams. South Korea squeezed into the last 16 after beating Germany 1-0 in their final group stage match on Saturday.

The top two teams from each of the six groups and the four best third-place teams qualified for the round of 16, and South Korea finished with the third-best record among No. 3 seeds.

South Korea contained Colombia in an evenly-matched first half, but Caicedo, the Colombian captain, broke through with her second goal of the tournament in the 64th minute.

Sintia Cabezas found Caicedo on the left wing with a perfectly-placed through ball, and Caicedo beat goalkeeper Woo Seo-bin with her left-footed shot.

South Korea outshot Colombia 6-2, but they finished the tournament with one goal scored in four matches.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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