PYONGYANG (Joint Press Corps) -- South Korea thrashed Hong Kong 6-0 in a qualifying match for the top Asian women's football competition on Sunday.
Cho So-hyun scored two penalties against Hong Kong at Kim Il-Sung Stadium in Pyongyang, and helped South Korea collect their second victory at the Asian Football Confederation Women's Asian Cup Group B qualifying tournament, which also features North Korea, Uzbekistan and India.
Cho So-hyun (Yonhap)
Only the top finisher in the group will advance to the 2018 Asian Cup in Jordan. The Asian competition also doubles as the qualifying tournament for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France, meaning any team except the winner in Pyongyang is automatically out for the women's showpiece event as well.
Earlier Sunday, North Korea beat Uzbekistan 4-0 to wrap up their Asian Cup qualifying campaign with 10 points on three wins and one draw. The North Koreans have a plus-17 goal difference, after scoring 18 goals and conceding one.
Now with two wins and one draw, South Korea must beat Uzbekistan by two goals in their final qualifying match on Tuesday to finish ahead of North Korea on goal difference, the first tiebreaker when two teams are tied in points.
The latest win gave South Korea a plus-16 goal difference. The Taeguk Ladies opened the qualifying campaign with a 10-0 win over India on Wednesday, and picked up a 1-1 draw with North Korea on Friday.
A one-goal victory with at least two goals scored will also put South Korea in the top spot as they will have the edge on goals scored, the second tiebreaker after goal difference.
South Korea struggled to score early against Hong Kong as their first goal came in the 44th minute, when captain Cho converted a penalty .
However, there were goals galore in the second half. Yoo Young-a found the back of the net in the 63rd and Cho scored another penalty eight minutes later.
South Korea made the score 4-0 after Kwon Eun-som's effort beat Hong Kong goalkeepr Leung Wai Nga in the 74th. Lee Geum-min then picked up her fourth goal of the tournament in the 83rd before Jang Seul-gi rounded out the scoring for South Korea in the 88th.
