Hanoi: Korea Republic made a striking early statement in their bid to return to the AFC U-19 Women's Championship, beating Lebanon 9-0 in their opening fixture in the second and final round of qualifying on Friday.
Striker Kang Ji-woo helped herself to a personal haul of four goals, while five other players also found the back of the net as the Koreans put themselves in a strong position to take one of the two qualifying spots on offer in Group B.
Lebanon had reached this stage after impressing on home soil in the first round of qualifying last October, but they found Hur Jung-jae's well-drilled side too much to handle, as Kang opened the scoring on 10 minutes, before Choo Hyo-joo doubled the lead four minutes later.
Further goals to Jung Min-young, Kim Eun-soul and a second for Kang had Lebanon staring down a five-goal deficit at half-time, before Kang completed her hat-trick eight minutes after the break to bring up the half-dozen.
Kim Soo-jin ensured the goals kept flowing in the 64th minute, before Kang netted her fourth 15 minutes later, with the ninth and final addition to the scoresheet coming five minutes from time through Jeong Yu-jin.
Korea can potentially seal their place in the Finals with another win over Islamic Republic of Iran on Sunday, while Lebanon must act urgently to salvage their campaign against group hosts Vietnam.
Photos: Vietnam Football Federation
Source: the-afc.com