Jang Seul-gi of the women’s soccer team is interviewed after training at the Campbelltown Sports Stadium outside Sydney, Australia on the 23rd. / Yonhap News
“They said that this ceremony became a hot topic. I will continue to push forward with this ceremony.” (Laughs)
Jang Seul-gi (29, Incheon Hyundai Steel) of the Korean women’s soccer team said this with a unique lively expression at the Campbelltown Sports Stadium outside Sydney, Australia, a Korean training ground, on the 23rd, two days before the 2023 FIFA (International Football Federation) Australia-New Zealand Women’s World Cup first leg match against Colombia in Group H.
Jang Seul-gi is a national team defender. However, he was active as a striker in his youth, so he has excellent kicks and has attacking instincts. He is also referred to as the ‘Goal Scorer’. Jang Seul-gi scored a picturesque goal in an evaluation match against Haiti (ranked 53rd) at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 8th, before leaving for Australia. In the 36th minute of the second half, when the score was tight at 1-1, free kick kicker Ji So-yeon (32, Suwon FC) handed the ball to Jang Seul-gi, who fired a mid-range shot and the ball went into the corner of the goal. It was the game-winning goal.
Afterwards, Seulgi Jang made a shy expression as if she couldn’t believe her shooting, and even covered her mouth with her hand. This ceremony scene spread through social media not only in Korea but also around the world. The reaction followed one after another, saying, ‘A wonderful goal that is not so in a shy ceremony’. Jang Seul-gi said, “I got too many calls from acquaintances. Her co-workers called it ‘annoying’ as a joke,” she laughed. “My football life is still long. It is not a ‘life goal’.”
Seulgi Jang’s shy ceremony against Haiti / Yonhap News
This was a promised play and a meaningful goal that Korea took advantage of through a set piece in the second half. Korea will have group stage matches on the 25th (Colombia), 30th (Morocco), and August 3 (Germany) in turn. Jang Seul-gi said, “The ‘high intensity’ emphasized by the director is now like our daily life. Now that the game is right around the corner, they don’t train as intensely as before, but the players train separately to raise their heart rate. I got used to it,” he said with confidence. Colin Bell (62), national team coach, has continued ‘high-intensity’ training that emphasizes recovery after sprinting (sprinting).
Jang Seul-gi is a veteran with 13 goals in 90 matches. When Korea defeated Japan in the 2010 FIFA U-17 (Under 17) Women’s World Cup (Trinidad and Tobago) and won the championship, Jang Seul-gi was the last kicker in the penalty shoot-out in the final and nailed the winning wedge. She showed off her steady skills by winning the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Female Youth Award of the Year and the Korea Football Association Player of the Year Award. This is her second World Cup appearance after 2019 (France).
2023-07-25 03:55:08
#여자 #월드컵 #현장 #Jang #Seulgi #fantasy #midrange #goal #Haiti #life #goal
