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| AFC Women’s Asian Cup |
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| An admits room for improvement |
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| Korea Republic players leave the pitch having not done enough against Chinese Taipei to make it to the semi-finals. |
HO CHI MINH CITY - Korea Republic coach An Ik-soo admitted his side still has plenty of room for improvement after they narrowly missed out on the semi-finals of the AFC Women's Asian Cup.
Korea Republic beat bottom side Chinese Taipei 2-0 at Army Stadium in their final qualifying match on Monday but after Japan's 3-1 victory over Australia, they failed to progress from Group B by virtue of goal difference.
An's side have made plenty of progress under his stewardship since they failed to pick up a point at the East Asian Football Federation Championship in February but the Korea boss insisted there is still a long road ahead for his team.
"Generally speaking, there is a long way to go for us," he said.
"I hope our players learn a lot from this match. Through this tournament all the players and staff made plenty of effort to improve but we will keep doing our best.
"We cannot be satisfied 100% every time so we should be more prepared from now on for the next tournament."
However, he did underline the fact that a heavy storm at the start of the second-half did not do his side any favours.
"When you see the weather and pitch condition, it's very difficult for our young players to produce a performance. It was not a matter of football but physical condition. Due to fatigue, our players couldn't play their best."
Chinese Taipei, on the other hand, turned in their most impressive display of the campaign and could even count themselves unlucky not to have snatched a point after creating a couple of good chances in the second-half.
After an 11-0 drubbing by Japan in their last game, coach Chen Shu-chin was pleased his side ended their campaign in more competitive fashion.
"The players did their best throughout but the performance in the second-half was completely unexpected," Chen said.
"The physical condition of the players was not that good throughout all three matches and the main reason they performed well tonight is because they have very strong spirit, a very strong will to play such a good game.
"Although we conceded the second goal in the last minute, which was a pity, but I think that we really did our best."
Despite conceding 17 goals in three games while also failing to find the back of the net, Chen still considered the Women's Asian Cup a positive experience for Chinese Taipei
"Before coming here, we knew we were in for three tough games," Chen added.
"Australia were very physical, fast and powerful. Japan's playing style was completely different but they were also very strong and of course the Korean team, they beat Japan in their first game.
"So we are lucky that we can face this kind of strong team and I think we have gained a lot of experience during the week."
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