Preview: Colombia Women vs. South Korea Women - prediction, team news, lineups

Colombia Women get up and running in the Women's World Cup 2023 on Tuesday when they go head-to-head with South Korea Women at the Sydney Football Stadium.

The South Americans are making their third World Cup appearance, while South Korea are featuring at the tournament for the fourth time in their history.

Match preview

After competing on the world stage in 2011 and 2015, Colombia failed to qualify for the 2019 tournament, but they had no such trouble this time around.

With last year's Copa America doubling as a qualifying tournament, Colombia knew that they had to finish as one of the top three teams to secure automatic qualification.

Nelson Abadia's side breezed through the group stage before going to claim a narrow 1-0 win over Argentina in the semi-final, guaranteeing them a place in Australia and New Zealand.

Colombia went on to lose the final 1-0 to Brazil, ensuring that they finished runners-up for the fourth time in their Copa America history.

They will now be looking to produce their best at the World Cup, but that may be easier said than done, having won one, drawn two and lost four of their seven matches at the tournament.

South Korea, meanwhile, have qualified for their third consecutive World Cup after finishing as runners-up in last year's Asia Cup.

With Germany favourites to top Group H, South Korea are set to battle Colombia and Morocco for a place in the knockout rounds.

They have failed to make it out of the group stage in two of their three World Cup appearances, but they did reach the last 16 in the 2015 tournament.

South Korea will be hoping to improve upon their overall record at the tournament, having recorded one victory, one draw and eight defeats in their 10 World Cup games.

However, Colin Bell's side will carry some momentum into their opening game after winning their last three internationals.

Colombia Women form (all competitions):

South Korea Women form (all competitions):

Team News

Colombia are expected to line up with Jorelyn Carabali and Carolina Arias in central defence, while Monica Ramos and Manuela Vanegas could feature as the two full-backs.

Daniela Montoya will wear the captain's armband, and the 32-year-old will sit alongside Lorena Bedoya in defensive midfield.

Real Madrid's highly-rated winger Linda Caicedo will be key to Colombia's attacking efforts during the tournament, and she will want to hit the ground running.

As for South Korea, Kim Jung-mi will feature between the posts, and she is expected to be shielded by three central defenders.

Kim Hye-ri, Lim Seon-joo and Shim Seo-yeon could get the nod in defence, while the wing-back roles will be filled by Choo Hyo-joo and Jang Sel-gi.

Former Chelsea midfielder Ji So-yun is set to feature in the middle of the park alongside Tottenham Hotspur's Cho So-hyun.

Perez; Ramos, Carabali, Arias, Vanegas; Montoya, Bedoya; Bahr, Usme, Caicedo; Ramirez

Jung-mi; Hye-ri, Seon-joo, Seo-yeon; Hyo-joo, So-yun, So-hyun, Sel-gi; Geum-min, Hwa-yeon; Yu-ri

We say: Colombia Women 1-1 South Korea Women

Tuesday's encounter promises to be a close-fought contest, and with both sides desperate to avoid defeat in their opening game, we think that a cagey affair will result in the spoils being shared.