CHONGQING: DPR Korea will be aiming to avenge their shock defeat to China in the AFC U-19 Women’s Championship 2006 final when the two meet in the semifinal of this edition here at the Chongqing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium on Saturday.

The two sides have been impressive in their group stage outings with DPR Korea, who are the world champions, topping a difficult Group A with a perfect record of three wins out of three, while hosts China finished second in Group B on goal difference behind Korea Republic.

However, with home turf advantage and a rest of three days, China seem to have the upper hand against their rivals who have been traditionally one of Asia’s strongest physical teams.

If China are to win the title again, much will depend on the goalscoring form of current AFC Women’s and Youth Player of the Year Ma Xiaoxu, the star of last year’s win against DPR Korea. Ma scored the only goal of the final in Kuala Lumpur to give her team a memorable victory.

So far Ma has seen limited action after being sparingly used by coach Gao Rongming and scored just one goal in their last group game against Korea Republic which ended in a 1-1 draw.

The 19-year-old will be looking for support from playmaker Ma Zixiang who has been the lynchpin for Gao’s charges.

While DPR Korea doesn’t have any player of Ma’s stature, they have in Ra Un-sim an able skipper and a speedy and skilful player who has so far hit the net thrice. Striker Cha Hu-nam, who plays on the right flank and thrives on opportunistic goals, and Ri Jong-sim, who is very strong in the air, have combined well for the world champions.

DPR Korea coach Choe Kwang-sok will however miss the services of defender Ri Kum-hui through suspension.

“The teams which qualified for the semifinals are of a high level and there is really little difference between them,” said Choe.

“I think Ma Xiaoxu is the best player in Asia in this age group. But there are also other (Chinese) players who are very good so we need to pay attention to all of them.”

Chinese coach Gao said: “All four teams have the same potential so it is difficult to predict the winner. My aim is to train these girls and educate them to help them be better players in the future.”

The winners of this semifinal will have a place booked for them in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Chile next year.