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Seoul heading to Championship Final after goalless playoff

The 0-0 draw was enough to see the Amazones through to the final against Hwacheon KSPO, which takes place over two legs starting next Saturday

WK League News

Seoul City Amazones will compete in the WK League Championship Final for the first time since 2013 after holding Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels to a 0-0 draw in a tense playoff match in Seoul on Saturday. The Amazones will face regular league champions Hwacheon KSPO in a two-legged final, the winner of which will lift the WK League trophy next weekend and earn a spot in the 2026-27 AFC Women’s Champions’ League.

People stand in a queue outside a small football ground. Some of them are holding bags marked 'Korea Women's Football Federation'.
Fans queue up to receive freebies and cheering accessories on their way into the auxiliary field of Seoul World Cup Stadium to watch the playoff match

As the higher ranking team Seoul had the home advantage for the one-legged playoff, but with the match being a local derby of sorts, and held on a weekend, there were plenty of fans — and plenty of noise — in both ends of the single stand overlooking the auxiliary field of Seoul World Cup Stadium. While representatives from the KWFF handed out freebies to supporters regardless of their allegiance, fans in the home end were given a Seoul City T-shirt from the club’s kit supplier, Hummel. Outside the away fans’ entrance, Incheon Hyundai handed out cheering accessories of their own.

Outside the entrance to a small football ground, there is a table with small banners and foldable clappers marked with the logo of Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels.
Cheering items were provided for Incheon Hyundai fans outside the away fans’ entrance

A banner hanging on the fence in the home end read “After 11 years’ wait, Seoul’s women warriors are back!”. The last time the Amazones made it as far as the playoff was in 2014, when they lost 1-0 to Goyang Daekyo Noonnoppi. As the teams took to the pitch for warm-ups, Seoul City’s cheering song “One Kick, One Dream” blared from the speakers, and fans shouted their support to the players. Staff from the club walked through the stand, requesting that spectators wear the T-shirts they had been given upon entry. A group of cheerleaders led the crowd in coordinated chants throughout the match — a far cry from reports as recently as 2023 that Seoul WFC banned cheering for fear of noise complaints.

The lively home crowd wasn’t the only factor working in Seoul’s favour. Following a change in WK League rules this year, in the case of a draw in the playoff, the home team would progress to the final, with no additional extra time or penalty shootout. Seoul have been unbeaten at home (and unbeaten by Incheon) this season but there was still a palpable tension in the air as the teams lined up ahead of kickoff.

On an artificial football pitch surrounded by autumnal trees and with a bright blue sky overhead, a women's football team and their coaches huddle together in front of their dugout.
Players and coaches from Seoul City Amazones huddle together before warming up

Play went from one end of the pitch to the other as one of the league’s most successful attacks went up against one of its strongest defences. If this were a regular league game, Seoul might have made more of some of their attacking opportunities, but knowing that they only needed a draw, the Amazones focused on defending, frustrating the Red Angels’ forward line with tight marking. Seoul did create some chances of their own too — Kim Minji’s shot on goal in the first half was saved by her South Korea teammate Kim Minjung, back between the sticks for Incheon after a few weeks’ absence from the squad due to injury.

Teams and match officials line up before kickoff at a football match held on an artificial pitch surrounded by trees. Staff hold flags with the logos of each team and the logo of the WK League.
The teams line up ahead of kickoff as cheerleaders lead the crowd in organised chants

With the score still standing 0-0 at half time, Incheon manager Hur Jeongjae made three substitutions and with fresh legs on the pitch, his team began attacking with more intensity. Seoul’s young goalkeeper Woo Seobin made several crucial saves, remaining calm and composed as the Red Angels tried again and again to snatch a late victory. Seoul manager Yoo Youngsil used her substitutions to bolster the team’s defence, concentrating on keeping Incheon at bay as they inched closer and closer to a place in the final. As the minutes ticked away, both sides became more desperate, the tension only released when, after four minutes of injury time, the referee blew her whistle, confirming Seoul City’s progression to the final and ending Incheon Hyundai’s 2025 WK League season.

Female football players line up ready to receive a goal kick during a match held on an artificial pitch. The electronic scoreboard indicates that almost 80 minutes have elapsed and the score is 0-0.
Seoul’s Woo Seobin prepares to take a goal kick, her team just minutes away from progressing to the 2025 WK League Championship Final

As players of both teams dropped to the floor to contemplate the result and its implications, there were tears of joy in the stand as a dream became reality for staff and long-time fans of Seoul City. Seoul’s success this season is not only the work of the coaches and players on the pitch. The club has made a real effort to strengthen its relationship with fans and improve the matchday experience, and the hard work of backroom staff has no doubt helped create the joyous aura that has seemed to follow Seoul throughout the season.

The scene of a football match that has just ended, with some players sitting on the pitch, others doubled over, and others looking up at the sky or walking to greet their teammates. The score on the scoreboard is 0-0. In the foreground, coaches from Seoul City high five each other.
Coaching staff celebrate and players are overcome with fatigue and emotion after the final whistle

Seoul goalkeeper Woo Seobin was named Player of the Match for her series of excellent saves. Seeing her impeccable composure as Incheon stepped up their attacking efforts in the second half, it’s hard to believe 21-year-old Woo only joined Seoul ahead of this season, her first in the WK League. She has been an excellent signing for the Amazones and is surely a favourite for ‘Best New Player’ at the 2025 WK League awards.

Players from Seoul City Amazones and Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels high five each other and shake hands with the match officials. Some are already walking back to their team dugouts. In the foreground Seoul's goalkeeper, a young Korean woman wearing her turquoise uniform, is being interviewed in front of a TV camera.
As players from both teams shake hands with each other and with the match officials, Player of the Match Woo Seobin is pulled aside for a quick TV interview

Reaching the Championship Final is a huge and well-deserved achievement for Seoul City, but it’s back to work this week as the team prepares to take on Hwacheon KSPO in the two-legged fixture. If the team from the capital can beat the regular league champions to lift the trophy, it would be a huge upset, but it’s not totally out of the question. So far in the 2025 WK League season, Seoul and Hwacheon have drawn three times, with Hwacheon clinching a 2-0 victory at home in the two teams’ most recent meeting. The first leg of the final is this Saturday, so Seoul City now need to focus on recovery and preparation. The end of the season is in sight, but their biggest challenge still lies ahead.

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