WK League News

South Korea’s under-20 women’s team has qualified for the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, currently underway in Poland. A win and a draw saw the side finish in second place in Group C, meaning they will face Group A runners-up Argentina in the first round of the knockout stage of the competition.

South Korea drew 1-1 with eventual group winners France in their first match last Sunday, the opening goal of their campaign coming from Jo Hyeyoung, who recently signed with Spanish club CFF Madrid. They were beaten 3-1 by Ghana on Wednesday, Beom Yeju scoring a consolation goal in second half stoppage time.

In the third and final group match on Saturday, South Korea beat Ecuador 3-2 to finish second in the group behind France. Lee Ha-eun gave her side the advantage in the first half, but the opposition equalised early in the second. Two goals in quick succession from Park Juha and Kim Minseo put the pressure back on Ecuador, with a point potentially enough to see the South American side through. The two-goal buffer proved valuable as Ecuador clawed a goal back in stoppage time, but Park Younjeong’s team held on to the end to secure second place in the group and qualification for the final 16.

The U-20 women’s team also reached the round of 16 in 2024, having previously failed to make it past the group stage since 2014. South Korea’s best ever performance in the competition was in 2010, when a squad featuring the likes of Ji Soyun and Kim Hyeri famously became the first South Korean national team to win a medal at a FIFA tournament.

Elsewhere in this year’s tournament, North Korea won their group with a perfect record of three wins and no goals conceded. The defending champions will play Japan in the Round of 16 later this week. The two Korean teams are now in opposite sides of the bracket and can only meet if they both reach the final.

South Korea will face Argentina in the Round of 16 on Wednesday 16th September. The winner of this match will meet either Italy or China in the quarter-finals.