As reserve players for South Korea competing at the upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia, forwards Lee Eun-young and Go Yoo-na may not get a chance to play in the big tournament this time. But they are still trying to make the most of the opportunity to train with the rest of the national team, hoping it will help them down the road.
"I am grateful for this chance to experience the World Cup, even indirectly," Lee said in an interview video clip shared by the Korea Football Association (KFA) on Wednesday. Coached by Colin Bell, the South Korean players have been training in Australia since last week, with their first Group H match against Colombia set for next Tuesday.
"Since I am a reserve, I don't know if I will get to play, but just being around these players should be a stepping stone for my career," Lee added.
She is no stranger to FIFA competitions, though. Lee, 21, represented South Korea at the U-17 Women's World Cup in 2018 and the U-20 Women's World Cup in 2022.
"As one of the youngest players in camp here, my job is to work hard and create some youthful energy for my teammates," Lee said.
Go was Lee's teammate at last year's U-20 World Cup. Now 20 years old, Go said she had to pinch herself when she was selected for this training camp, albeit as a reserve.
"My teammates have been taking great care of me, and the vibe here is really easygoing, even more so than the junior national teams I've been on before," Go said. "I am having a lot of fun."
Listed at 179 centimeters tall, Go would have been the second-tallest outfield player on the team, behind the 182 cm forward Park Eun-seon, had she made the 23-player official squad.
"The coach wants us to be physical," Go said. "In international events like this, physicality is really important, and I think the coach must have felt I could help the team in that area."
Another member of the 2022 U-20 World Cup team, Bae Ye-bin, made the official squad for her first senior World Cup. The precocious talent played in the U-20 event as a 17-year-old. Five months shy of her 19th birthday, Bae is the second-youngest player for South Korea, after the 16-year-old Casey Yujin Phair.
The importance of representing the country well wasn't lost on the youngster, though.
"I think every player has to bring a sense of responsibility," Bae said. "Playing in the World Cup is a dream for every player, and I am so happy that I've taken a step toward that dream. If I do end up playing, I want to be able to help the team as much as I can."
Bae said missing out on the knockout stage at the U-20 World Cup was "a priceless experience."
"We thought we'd prepared well for the tournament and we still got eliminated in the group stage," Bae said. "That just means we had more growing up to do."
After playing 25th-ranked Colombia in Sydney, world No. 17 South Korea will face No. 72 Morocco in Adelaide on July 30, and then No. 2 Germany on Aug. 3 in Brisbane.
The top two nations from each of the eight groups will advance to the knockouts. This is South Korea's fourth appearance at the Women's World Cup and they've been to the round of 16 once so far -- in 2015 in Canada.
Source: Yonhap News Agency