The year 2023, when the Australia-New Zealand Women’s World Cup will be held, is an important year for the women’s national soccer team led by coach Colin Bell (62, England). Although they passed the group stage for the first time in their history at the 2015 Canadian Tournament, they have to recover their pride, which was shattered by a three-game losing streak at the 2019 France Tournament. So, the Arnold Clark Cup to be held in England is expected to be an important mock test for ‘Belho’ ahead of the World Cup in June.
The national team started training in Ulsan on the 27th of last month ahead of the Arnold Clark Cup, which will start on the 17th (Korean time). Major veterans such as Cho So-hyun (35, Tottenham Women), Lee Young-joo (31, Madrid CFF), and Lee Min-ah (32, Incheon Hyundai Steel) fell from the horse due to injuries, and Ji So-yeon (32, Suwon FC Women) is also uncertain about participating due to the aftereffects of ankle surgery. . Apart from the number of 15th in the FIFA rankings, there are not a few uneasy factors, so the main task of this convocation is to find replacements for veterans who have left the front line and restore the condition of 안전놀이터 domestic players.
The opponents to meet at the Arnold Clark Cup are expected to be an ‘advanced mock test’ for the national team. England, Belgium, and Italy, who are in the best shape because they are in the middle of the season, are physically strong, just like Colombia, Morocco, and Germany, which will meet in Group H of the Women’s World Cup group stage. In addition, the way to determine the winner by holding a full league every 2 to 3 days is the same as the World Cup group stage.
In particular, England, ranked 4th in the FIFA rankings, has been undefeated in 26 matches (22 wins, 4 draws) with the victory of the 2022 European Championship after the appointment of coach Sarina Bigman (54, Netherlands) in September 2021. Belgium, 20th in the FIFA rankings, and Italy, 17th, are also competitive teams that reached the quarterfinals at the 2022 European Championship and 2019 France World Cup, respectively. It is a mock test that boasts a level of difficulty comparable to the main test.
Ahead of the Arnold Clark Cup, coach Bell said, “In this tournament, we will face teams with similar tendencies to our World Cup opponents. You will be able to check how to solve games with high physical demands, how to adapt to improvisation, and how to recover between actual battles.”
The national team will depart for England on the 9th and start adapting to the local environment. With less than six months left until the World Cup, ‘Belho’ got the best opportunity to maximize its power.