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Bogotá, September 11, 2024. A deep pass from Sintia Cabezas left Linda Caicedo alone in front of South Korea’s goalkeeper, Seobin Woo. A shot with an inside edge, which crashed off one of the goalkeeper’s legs and scored. That was the goal with which the national team beat the Asian team 1-0 to earn their ticket to the quarterfinals of the U-20 World Cup. The tricolor team reached four games without conceding a goal.
Photo: Colombia advanced to the quarterfinals of the U-20 World Championship.
Colombia, to the quarterfinals
With a goal by Linda Caicedo, in the 64th minute, the national team defeated South Korea in the round of 16 of a competition that is supported by the Ministry of Sports with 6,995 million pesos for its organization.
Mindeporte Press
Bogotá, September 11, 2024. A deep pass from Sintia Cabezas left Linda Caicedo alone in front of South Korea’s goalkeeper, Seobin Woo. A shot with an inside edge, which crashed off one of the goalkeeper’s legs and scored. That was the goal with which the national team beat the Asian team 1-0 to earn their ticket to the quarterfinals of the U-20 World Cup. The tricolor team reached four games without conceding a goal.
Speed, precision and collective play. Colombia’s first 20 minutes were a clear reflection of the mentality with which they came out to face the match. The team was dominant, trying to prevent their opponent from getting out with advanced lines, playing quickly and creating danger near their goal.
The first clear chance came at the feet of Karla Torres, after a deep pass from Linda Caicedo, in the second minute. The forward tried to get past the goalkeeper, but the play did not go as planned and they ended up recovering. The second, in the 12th minute: a steal by Caicedo and a cross shot that went wide.
Two attempts, two signs that the national team was going out to score quickly. However, the doors did not open. The attacks continued with Linda Caicedo and Yesica Muñoz, but the lack of aim and Woo’s hands prevented them from celebrating a goal in the first half.
The intensity began to fade as the minutes passed and the spaces for the Koreans opened up. This is how Yugyeong Jeon, in the 39th minute, had the first great chance for the Asians: a header that was blocked by Luisa Agudelo. Then, it was a mid-distance shot by Eunhyoung Choi, but the national goalkeeper’s firm hands prevented the goal.
The second half began with the same impetus as the start of the first half, but there was not as much precision and the order of the rivals forced the national players to go out of order in search of a goal. The most persistent were Linda Caicedo, Yesica Muñoz, Gabriela Rodríguez and Karla Torres, but without clear ideas.
However, it was that persistence that led Colombia to achieve the long-awaited goal. In the 64th minute, Karla Torres and Sintia Cabezas joined forces on a pass to Caicedo, leaving her alone in front of the goalkeeper, shot and scored, a goal that made the Pascual Guerrero vibrate with emotion.
The tricolor team continued to create chances but without being able to convert them. In turn, the Korean team, in need of equalizing, moved forward and began to create chances near the national goal. The clearest one came in the 76th minute, when Hanbin Choi took a free kick that was aimed at Agudelo’s left post, but the goalkeeper stretched to prevent the ball from going into the goal.
The match ended like this, with the locals in possession, controlling the time and the result. With the final whistle blown by central referee Marta Huerta, Colombia united in a single embrace to celebrate their passage to the quarterfinals of the World Cup, which will be played next Sunday at the Pascual Guerrero, starting at 2:30 pm against the winner of the match between France and the Netherlands.
