South Korea coach Colin Bell expressed his frustration after a penalty was called against his team in a 2-0 loss to Colombia at the Women’s World Cup. Bell questioned why there was no video assistant referee (VAR) review for the penalty, which was scored by Catalina Usme after a handball by Shim Seo-yeon. He believed the penalty was harsh and wondered why it wasn’t reviewed, especially considering the lengthy VAR reviews in other matches. Bell acknowledged the difficulty of playing against a strong Colombia team after going down a goal.
Colombia’s Linda Caicedo scored the second goal, with Bell admitting that his team made it too easy for her. He mentioned that as a former fullback, he would have slide tackled to prevent Caicedo from scoring. Bell emphasized the need for stronger one-on-one defending and not just shadowing the opponent. He believed that defenders should be more aggressive and win the ball cleanly.
Colin Bell, a 61-year-old coach with experience in Germany and England, played two seasons for Leicester City. He made the decision to send 16-year-old Casey Phair onto the pitch in the 78th minute, making her the youngest player ever to play in a World Cup game. Bell praised Phair’s performance in training and saw her inclusion as a signal for the future. He emphasized the importance of strong, fast players with physicality and believed that Phair exemplified those qualities.
South Korea will face Morocco in their next Group H match on Sunday.
