World Cup veteran, neophyte recognize importance of conditioning

World Cup veteran, neophyte recognize importance of conditioning: Football / 유지호 / 2023-06-30 11:19:57

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▲ Lee Geum-min, midfielder for the South Korean women's national football team, speaks with reporters before a training session for the FIFA Women's World Cup at the National Football Center in Paju, 40 kilometers northwest of Seoul, on June 30, 2023, in this photo provided by the Korea Football Association. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ Choe Yu-ri, forward for the South Korean women's national football team, speaks with reporters before a training session for the FIFA Women's World Cup at the National Football Center in Paju, 40 kilometers northwest of Seoul, on June 30, 2023, in this photo provided by the Korea Football Association. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

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World Cup veteran, neophyte recognize importance of conditioning

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- As a veteran of two FIFA Women's World Cups, South Korean midfielder Lee Geum-min said Friday she understands the importance of being fit and increasing stamina for the grind.

Lee and 30 other players have been in South Korea's final training camp ahead of this year's Women's World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand starting July 20. Head coach Colin Bell will cut eight players from his camp roster after South Korea play their final tuneup match in Seoul against Haiti on July 8.

Since taking over South Korea in the fall of 2019, Bell has been known for running his players into the ground in conditioning drills. Whatever the South Korean players may lack in physical play and skills, the thinking goes, Bell wants them to make up for it with tireless energy.

Lee, who plays for Brighton & Hove Albion WFC, said Bell's philosophy isn't simply about running all over the pitch aimlessly.

"We want to be able to cover a lot of ground and recover as quickly as possible," Lee told reporters before a training session at the National Football Center in Paju, some 40 kilometers northwest of Seoul. "And it's not just one or two players who should be doing that. Everyone must be able to do it. And it's not just at the World Cup. In modern football, you need to be fast in transition from offense to defense, and vice versa."

Lee admitted that Bell's conditioning sessions are quite grueling but added, "I am thankful for the opportunity to train like this."

Lee, 29, played at the 2015 and the 2019 World Cups and has collected 80 caps so far. She has scored 26 times for South Korea, though never in a World Cup match.

"Honestly, I don't really care if I score or not, as long as we win," Lee said. "But it'd be nice to score. I try to picture myself in that situation every day."

One of Lee's teammates, forward Choe Yu-ri, is trying to imagine herself playing in her first World Cup this summer. Though she has picked up 50 caps in an international career that began in 2014, Choe didn't make the final roster for the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.

The 28-year-old may not get that many opportunities to play at a World Cup after this.

"Since I've never played at a World Cup, I don't really know how to feel about it. I am just trying to make the final roster," Choe said. "I am trying to learn from some of the new faces here."

Choe said she is confident her speed can help South Korea at the World Cup, and familiarity with the core of the team can also be an advantage.

"For the past three or so years, I've been training and playing with pretty much the same group of players," Choe said. "I think we've reached a point where we can get on the same page on the field without even talking to one another."

Choe said she was bracing herself for one of Bell's signature conditioning sessions Friday.

"We had one of these a few days ago, and I was pretty tired after that," Choe said. "But we try to get ourselves fired up from the warmup, and I think the coach likes it."

South Korea, world No. 17, will open their Group H play on July 25 against 25th-ranked Colombia in Sydney. They will then take on No. 72 Morocco in Adelaide on July 30 and No. 2 Germany in Brisbane on Aug. 3.

The top two nations from each of the eight groups will advance to the round of 16. This will be South Korea's fourth appearance at the Women's World Cup. They've been in the knockout stage just once -- in Canada in 2015, losing to France 3-0 in the round of 16.

Lee said she was convinced South Korea could reach the knockouts Down Under this time.

"Some people may see us as underdogs, but I am confident we can make it to the round of 16," Lee said. "No matter what other teams may think of us, we are not going to back down against anyone."

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