Colombia Women vs Korea Republic Women. Women's World Cup Group H.
Allianz StadiumAttendance24,323.
Match report as Colombia overcame South Korea 2-0 in Group H of the Women's World Cup on Tuesday; Real Madrid forward Linda Caicedo scored on her debut at the competition to seal the win at the Sydney Football Stadium; Catalina Usme gave Colombia the lead from a penalty
Tuesday 25 July 2023 08:34, UK
Cancer survivor Linda Caicedo scored on her debut at the Women's World Cup as Colombia beat South Korea 2-0 on Tuesday.
The Real Madrid forward, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 15, fired in her country's second goal of the match at Sydney Football Stadium, before racing toward Colombia's fans in celebration.
The 18-year-old Caicedo further enhanced her reputation as one of the game's rising stars with her goal and performance as Colombia made a winning start to the tournament.
Colombia had taken the lead from a penalty in the 30th minute after Shim Seo-yeon handled a goal-bound effort from Manuela Vanegas in the area, with Catalina Usme converting from the spot by sending South Korean goalkeeper Yoon Young-geul the wrong way.
Caicedo's goal came at the end of a darting run from midfield, which saw her cut in from the left before curling a shot from the edge of the box and while her effort appeared too central to trouble Yoon, the 'keeper got her positioning wrong and instead fumbled it into the net.
Lee Geum-min was close to pulling a goal back for South Korea at the end of the half, but was denied by the flying save of Catalina Perez.
In a moment for the history books, 16-year-old Casey Phair became the youngest-ever player in the Women's World Cup when she went on as a second-half substitute for South Korea, but it was too little, too late.
The result leaves Colombia second in Group H behind Germany, who thrashed Morocco 6-0 on Monday.
South Korea and Morocco will look to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive when they meet in Adelaide on Sunday, with Colombia taking on Germany in Sydney later that day.
The group stage has begun and runs over a two-week period, finishing on August 3. Group winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16, which takes place from August 5 to August 8.
The quarter-finals, which will be held in Wellington, Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney, are scheduled for August 11 and 12.
The first semi-final will then be played on August 15 in Auckland, with the other semi-final taking place on August 16 at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, which will then host the final on August 20.
A third-place play-off will be played the day before the final on August 19 in Brisbane.
