Suwon: As a veteran mainstay on the South Korean women's national football team, Ji So-yun said Wednesday her younger teammates still have long ways to go before establishing themselves. Ji commented on the transitional phase for South Korea after she scored the last-minute equalizer for a 2-2 draw against China to kick off the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Women's Football Championship at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul.
According to Yonhap News Agency, it was Ji's 73rd international goal. No South Korean player, male or female, has scored more than the 34-year-old star. She was in the starting lineup alongside four players born in the 2000s, as head coach Shin Sang-woo scrambled to put together his 25-player squad after one veteran after another hit the sidelines with injuries just before the EAFF event.
Ji said pulling out a point against China, sitting four spots above South Korea in the FIFA rankings at No. 17, was "an encouraging result" and added she hoped young players will use it as an opportunity to grow. "Honestly, their individual skills have to improve," Ji said. "With some veterans out with injuries, we brought in a lot of young players. But I think there's quite a bit of a talent gap between the two groups. We're seeing more and more young players move overseas, and if they can keep developing, it will make the national team that much stronger."
In addition to leading the country in goals, Ji has also collected more caps than any South Korean player with 167. She said she wants to impart wisdom to her teammates. "I have more national team experience than anyone and I want to share that with young players," Ji said, before adding with a laugh, "Next year will be my 20th anniversary (with the national team). I am a fossil at this point. So I have to be the leader and remind young players what an honor it is to play for the national team."