▲ Naegohyang Women's FC players celebrate a goal by Kim Kyong-yong against Suwon FC Women during the clubs' semifinal match at the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League at Suwon Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on May 20, 2026. (Yonhap)
▲ Suwon FC Women players celebrate a goal by Haruhi Suzuki against Naegohyang Women's FC during the clubs' semifinal match at the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League at Suwon Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on May 20, 2026. (Yonhap)
▲ Ji So-yun of Suwon FC Women (R) reacts to her missed penalty against Naegohyang Women's FC during the clubs' semifinal match at the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League at Suwon Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on May 20, 2026. (Yonhap)
▲ Ayaka Nishikawa of Suwon FC Women (R) and Ri Yu-jong of Naegohyang Women's FC battle for the ball during the clubs' semifinal match at the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League at Suwon Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on May 20, 2026. (Yonhap)
▲ Naegohyang Women's FC players celebrate a goal by Kim Kyong-yong against Suwon FC Women during the clubs' semifinal match at the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League at Suwon Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on May 20, 2026. (Yonhap)
▲ Yoon Su-jeong of Suwon FC Women (R) and Ri Yu-jong of Naegohyang Women's FC battle for the ball during the clubs' semifinal match at the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League at Suwon Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on May 20, 2026. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) football-Koreas

(LEAD) N. Korea's Naegohyang beat S. Korea's Suwon FC Women in hyped-up football match

(ATTN: ADDS details from para 9, photos)

By Yoo Jee-ho

SUWON, South Korea, May 20 (Yonhap) -- Naegohyang Women's FC of North Korea defeated South Korea's Suwon FC Women 2-1 on Wednesday in a highly anticipated football match between the two Koreas, booking a spot in the final of a top Asian club tournament.

Naegohyang rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the second half with goals by Choe Kum-ok and Kim Kyong-yong in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Women's Champions League amid heavy downpours at Suwon Stadium in Suwon, 30 kilometers south of Seoul.

Japanese forward Haruhi Suzuki had the only goal for Suwon FC Women, whose captain Ji So-yun misfired a penalty that would have knotted the score in the 79th minute.

In the final scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday in Suwon, Naegohyang will face Tokyo Verdy Beleza of Japan with US$1 million at stake. Tokyo defeated Melbourne City FC 3-1 in the other semifinal match earlier Wednesday.

The Suwon-Naegohyang match was played in front of a sizable crowd witnessing the first-ever match between women's football clubs of the Koreas on South Korean soil.

This was the second meeting of this tournament between the two sides. Naegohyang had blanked Suwon 3-0 in their Group C meeting in November, when Myanmar's Yangon served as the centralized venue.

Naegohyang got the better of Suwon FC Women once again, despite getting badly outplayed in the first half.

Suwon FC Women found the woodwork twice -- Suzuki's header hitting the right post in the 21st minute and then Mileninha finding the left post from close range in the 30th minute.

Suwon FC Women were clearly the better team in the first half, as they spent the majority of the opening 45 minutes in the opposing zone and handily won the possession battle. The shot attempts were 10-1 in Suwon FC Women's favor.

Naegohyang barely threatened the opposing net after Kim Kyong-yong's would-be goal was called off on an offside ruling in the fifth minute.

It was all Suwon FC Women the rest of the first half. In the 21st minute, Yoon Su-jeong's long cross connected with Suzuki for a header that hit the right post and bounced out of play. Five minutes later, Ji So-yun sent her free kick from outside the box just over the target.

At the half-hour mark, Mileninha kept the ball from going out of bounds on the left side of the box and took a quick shot from close range that hit the bottom of the left post.

Kim Hye-ri tried to catch Naegohyang defense napping and dial in from long distance in the 36th minute, only to see her attempt sail over the net.

Another close call for Suwon FC Women came two minutes later, when Yoon's header from the center of the box was turned aside by goalkeeper Pak Ju-gyong.

Suwon FC Women finally got on the board four minutes after the restart, thanks to some heads-up play by Suzuki.

After the loose ball trickled out of the box, Ayaka Nishikawa floated it back toward the goal. With Naegohyang's An Pok-yon waiting for the ball to come down, Suzuki snuck in from behind to poke the ball home.

Suwon FC Women's lead lasted only six minutes, as Choe Kum-ok got behind the defense and headed home Ri Yu-jong's free kick.

The North Korean club then grabbed the lead in the 67th minute. With Suwon's defense scrambling in their own zone, their Brazilian forward Mileninha tried to clear the ball out of the box but her volley instead went almost straight up in the air. It landed on Kim Kyong-yong, whose header beat Kim Kyeong-hee for the go-ahead marker.

Suwon then blew a massive chance to draw even.

They were awarded a penalty in the 75th minute with Pak Ye-gyong fouling Jeon Min-ji in the box. The play initially continued without a call from the referee Le Thi Ly, before the video assistant referee alerted Le for a possible penalty. The review confirmed Pak's foul in the area and Ji, widely considered the greatest women's football player in South Korean history, stepped up to take the spot kick.

Ji successfully faked goalkeeper Pak Ju-gyong, who dove to her left, but the shot rolled wide of the left post.

Ji went down on her knees and covered her face in apparent shock, and Suwon FC Women never recovered from the veteran's rare miss.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]