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Gambia girls face Korea DPR in World Cup opener

Sep 21, 2012, 12:00 PM

The Gambia Women U-17 will open their campaign against Korea DPR in their first-ever appearance at a FIFA U-17 World Cup on Saturday.

The match will be an early kickoff in Baku against an Asian side that won the inaugural FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup at New Zealand 2008 and finished fourth in the following edition.

Korea DPR, according to FIFA.com,  are renowned for their solid organisation and disciplined approach to the game, but coach Hwang Yong-Bong believes they would need something more to achieve their goal in the world finals.

“We will have to concentrate our composure upfront to score more goals. Sometimes we fail to do so and we need to work on this aspect,” he said after his side finished runners-up in the continental championship.

“I hope we will be able to overcome these shortcomings before the World Cup and win the event.”

Described as a team with a clutch of skilful attacking players and an aggressive mentality, The Gambia U-17 team, according FIFA.com, could cause problems for any rivals that underestimate them.

The Gambian girls, who underwent a ten-day camp in Morocco, recorded an amazing win over a local Temara selection beating them 6-1 after losing 3-2 earlier against a Morocco national side.

The team will play USA on September 25 in their second game and later meet France on September 29, 2012.