Argentina lost 1-0 to South Korea and was eliminated from the U-20 Women's World Cup

The dream of Argentina in the Women's U-20 World Cup in Poland has come to an end. At the Arena Sosnowiec, the team led by Christian Meloni lost 1-0 to South Korea in the round of 16 and bid farewell to the tournament for the second consecutive time at this stage.

From the first minutes, the Asian team made it clear that they would seek to impose their conditions. Before the 10-minute mark, goalkeeper Priscila Siben had already intervened twice, and shortly after, Nam Seungeun came close to opening the scoring with a header that hit the crossbar following a corner from the right.

The South Korean pressure finally paid off at 33 minutes. Jo Hyeyoung broke down the right flank, Alma Velasco Heim managed to clear but left the ball inside the area, and Beom Yeju took advantage of the situation to unleash a shot that left Siben with no response.

With the score against them, Argentina tried to react before halftime and had a golden opportunity to equalize. Mercedes Diz took responsibility from about 25 meters out and unleashed a left-footed shot that once again hit the crossbar, in one of the clearest chances of the first half.

In the second half, the national team showed a different version. The Albiceleste pushed their lines forward, took risks, and began to find spaces to approach Kim Chaebeen's goal. Although South Korea also had chances to extend their lead through counterattacks, Argentina created the clearest opportunities for much of the half.

Diz became the main offensive threat. The River forward had two very close opportunities to equalize: first, with a header from a cross by Camila Ochoa that again hit the crossbar, and then with another aerial ball after an assist from Luisana Araya, where Kim Chaebeen responded with a great intervention.

The forward also participated in one of the last chances for the Albiceleste. At 83, she set up Dolores Delgado inside the small area, but the Real Madrid player failed to connect with the ball to send it into the back of the net.

The result marked the end of Argentina's participation. In the group stage, the team had started with a 3-0 loss to Poland, but then managed to recover with victories against Benin, by 8-0, and Mexico, by 3-2. Annika Paz, with five goals, ended up being the top scorer and one of the standout players of the team in that first stage.

Thus, Argentina matched its best performance in a Women's U-20 World Cup by reaching the round of 16 again, as in the previous edition in Colombia 2024. However, a historical account remains pending: no Argentine women's team, regardless of the category, has yet managed to win a knockout match in a World Cup.

For its part, South Korea advanced to the quarterfinals and will continue its journey on Saturday at 10 in Sosnowiec, where it will face the winner of the match between Italy and China.