Just before the start of the Hangzhou Asian Games, some of the women’s soccer quarterfinals were changed without prior notice, raising the possibility of a Korea-Japan matchup that was initially scheduled for the quarterfinals being postponed.
According to the Asian Games women’s soccer quarterfinal bracket posted on the Games’ website on Monday, the top-ranked team in Group E will face either the second-ranked team in Group D or the top-ranked team in Group C. The winner of Group D will face the winner of Group C or the runner-up of Group E for a spot in the quarterfinals.
The Asian Games women’s soccer competition will be divided into five groups, with three teams in Groups A to C and four teams in Groups D and E. The teams will play each other in the group stage. After the group stage, the top five teams from each group and the top three finishers from each group will meet for the quarterfinals.
However, the original bracket had the winner of Group D and the winner of Group E meeting in the quarterfinals. South Korea, in Group E, was likely to face Japan, the Group D favorite, in the quarterfinals.
However, a change in bracketing prior to the start of the tournament greatly reduced the likelihood of a Korea-Japan quarterfinal matchup. Under the new format, South Korea and Japan will meet in the final if they finish first in Group E and D, respectively.
The Korean Football Association said that it has not received any notification from the Asian Games Organizing Committee regarding the sudden change in the bracket, saying, “We have not received any letter or notification.” The federation claims that when it received a file from the organizing committee on Aug. 8 outlining the schedule for all sports at the Asian Games, there was no mention of a change in the soccer bracket. Instead, the guidelines they received on the same day showed a different bracket with no indication of the schedule change.
The change in bracketing will be good news for both South Korea and Japan. The pressure to play each other is high, and both teams have the quality to win the Asian title.스포츠토토
“I don’t understand a system where if you finish first in your group, you have to play Japan (the other group leader),” Women’s National Team head coach Colleen Bell told reporters during a training camp in Paju on May 5. “Why do you play first? I don’t know. Let’s see what happens,” she said with a firm expression.