South Korea at the FIFA World Cup

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For the women's team, see South Korea at the FIFA Women's World Cup.

The South Korea national football team have appeared eleven times at the FIFA World Cup, including ten consecutive tournaments from 1986 to 2022. The team made its World Cup debut in 1954, losing both matches and finishing fourth in the group stage. South Korea's best ever result is fourth place at the 2002 tournament, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. At the tournament, South Korea eliminated Italy and Spain in the round of 16 and quarter-finals, respectively, and thus became the first team outside Europe and the Americas to reach the semi-finals.

Competitive record[edit]

FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Pld W D L F A Squad Pld W D L F A
1930 to 1938 Part of Japan Part of Japan
Brazil 1950 Did not enter Did not enter
Switzerland 1954 Group stage 2 0 0 2 0 16 Squad 2 1 1 0 7 3
Sweden 1958 Did not enter Entry denied by FIFA[1]
Chile 1962 Did not qualify 4 2 0 2 6 9
England 1966 Did not enter Did not enter
Mexico 1970 Did not qualify 4 1 2 1 6 5
West Germany 1974 8 3 4 1 10 4
Argentina 1978 12 5 6 1 16 9
Spain 1982 3 2 0 1 7 4
Mexico 1986 Group stage 3 0 1 2 4 7 Squad 8 7 0 1 17 3
Italy 1990 3 0 0 3 1 6 Squad 11 9 2 0 30 1
United States 1994 3 0 2 1 4 5 Squad 13 9 3 1 32 5
France 1998 3 0 1 2 2 9 Squad 12 9 2 1 28 8
South Korea Japan 2002 Fourth place 7 3 2 2 8 6 Squad Qualified as hosts
Germany 2006 Group stage 3 1 1 1 3 4 Squad 12 7 3 2 18 7
South Africa 2010 Round of 16 4 1 1 2 6 8 Squad 14 7 7 0 22 7
Brazil 2014 Group stage 3 0 1 2 3 6 Squad 14 8 3 3 27 11
Russia 2018 3 1 0 2 3 3 Squad 18 12 3 3 38 10
Qatar 2022 Round of 16 4 1 1 2 5 8 Squad 16 12 3 1 35 4
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined 4 3 1 0 12 1
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total Fourth place 38 7 10 21 39 78 11/19[a] 155 97 40 18 311 91
  1. ^ Statistics since 1948, when South Korea became a member of FIFA.

Team records[edit]

General records[edit]

First match  South Korea 0–9 Hungary 
(17 June 1954; Zürich, Switzerland)
Biggest win  South Korea 2–0 Poland 
(4 June 2002; Busan, South Korea)
 South Korea 2–0 Greece 
(12 June 2010; Port Elizabeth, South Africa)
 South Korea 2–0 Germany 
(27 June 2018; Kazan, Russia)
Biggest defeat  South Korea 0–9 Hungary 
(17 June 1954; Zürich, Switzerland)

World records[edit]

See also: List of FIFA World Cup records and statistics
Fastest goal conceded from kickoff
11 seconds, Hakan Şükür (for Turkey against South Korea), 2002
Most goals conceded, one tournament
16, Hong Deok-young, 1954
Worst goal difference, one tournament
−16, South Korea, 1954
Biggest margin of loss
9, Hungary 9–0 South Korea, 1954 (joint record)
Biggest upset in the knockout stage, per FIFA rankings
+34 – South Korea (ranked 40) won 2–1 over Italy (ranked 6), 2002
Biggest upset of a defending champion, per FIFA rankings
+56 – South Korea (ranked 57) won 2–0 over Germany (ranked 1), 2018
Biggest upset of a top ranked team, per FIFA rankings
+56 – South Korea (ranked 57) won 2–0 over Germany (ranked 1), 2018

Head-to-head record[edit]

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD Confederation
 Algeria 1 0 0 1 2 4 −2 CAF
 Argentina 2 0 0 2 2 7 −5 CONMEBOL
 Belgium 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 UEFA
 Bolivia 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 CONMEBOL
 Brazil 1 0 0 1 1 4 –3 CONMEBOL
 Bulgaria 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 UEFA
 France 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 UEFA
 Germany 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 UEFA
 Ghana 1 0 0 1 2 3 −1 CAF
 Greece 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 UEFA
 Hungary 1 0 0 1 0 9 −9 UEFA
 Italy 2 1 0 1 4 4 0 UEFA
 Mexico 2 0 0 2 2 5 −3 CONCACAF
 Netherlands 1 0 0 1 0 5 −5 UEFA
 Nigeria 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 CAF
 Poland 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 UEFA
 Portugal 2 2 0 0 3 1 +2 UEFA
 Russia 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 UEFA
 Spain 3 0 2 1 3 5 −2 UEFA
 Sweden 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 UEFA
  Switzerland 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 UEFA
 Togo 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 CAF
 Turkey 2 0 0 2 2 10 −8 UEFA
 United States 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 CONCACAF
 Uruguay 3 0 1 2 1 3 −2 CONMEBOL
Total 38 7 10 21 39 78 –39

Player records[edit]

Most appearances[edit]

Hong Myung-bo is South Korea's most capped player at the FIFA World Cup.
Rank Player Caps Goals Competitions
1 Hong Myung-bo 16 2 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002
2 Park Ji-sung 14 3 2002, 2006, 2010
3 Lee Young-pyo 12 0 2002, 2006, 2010
4 Lee Woon-jae 11 0 1994, 2002, 2006
Kim Nam-il 11 0 2002, 2006, 2010
6 Hwang Sun-hong 10 2 1990, 1994, 2002
Kim Tae-young 10 0 1998, 2002
Yoo Sang-chul 10 2 1998, 2002
Ahn Jung-hwan 10 3 2002, 2006
Lee Chun-soo 10 1 2002, 2006
Kim Young-gwon 10 2 2014, 2018, 2022
Son Heung-min 10 3 2014, 2018, 2022

Top goalscorers[edit]

Park Ji-sung is the only South Korean player to score at three different FIFA World Cups.
Rank Player Goals Caps Competitions
1 Ahn Jung-hwan 3 10 2002, 2006
Son Heung-min 3 10 2014, 2018, 2022
Park Ji-sung 3 14 2002, 2006, 2010
4 Lee Jung-soo 2 4 2010
Cho Gue-sung 2 4 2022
Lee Chung-yong 2 7 2010, 2014
Hwang Sun-hong 2 10 1990, 1994, 2002
Yoo Sang-chul 2 10 1998, 2002
Kim Young-gwon 2 10 2014, 2018, 2022
Hong Myung-bo 2 16 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002

Awards[edit]

See also: FIFA World Cup awards

South Korea is the only Asian team to ever win a team award at a FIFA World Cup when they were voted the Most Entertaining Team in 2002 after finishing in fourth place.[2] In the same year, Hong Myung-bo and Yoo Sang-chul were voted members of the All-star team.[3] They are the only two Asians ever to be named in an All-star team. Hong also received the Bronze Ball award, becoming the first Asian player ever to receive the award.[4]

Details[edit]

1954 (Switzerland)[edit]

South Korea made their World Cup debut in 1954, becoming the second Asian team after Indonesia to ever enter the World Cup. Qualifying occurred in March 1954, barely one year after the end of the Korean War. Only South Korea and Japan competed for the Asian spot at the World Cup, and as the Koreans refused to give visas to their rivals and former colonizers, both qualifier games were held in Tokyo. With a squad that consisted entirely of army personnel, South Korea eliminated Japan with a 5–1 victory followed by a 2–2 draw.[5]

South Korea played games against Hungary and Turkey, losing 9–0 and 7–0 respectively. Hong Deok-young became the goalkeeper to concede the most goals in a single World Cup.[6]

17 June 1954 Group 2 Hungary  9–0  South Korea Hardturm Stadium, Zürich
18:00 UTC+1 Puskás 12', 89'
Lantos 18'
Kocsis 24', 36', 50'
Czibor 59'
Palotás 75', 83'		 Report Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Raymond Vincenti (France)
20 June 1954 Group 2 Turkey  7–0  South Korea Charmilles Stadium, Geneva
17:00 UTC+1 Suat 10', 30'
Lefter 24'
Burhan 37', 64', 70'
Erol 76'		 Report Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Esteban Marino (Uruguay)
Group 2 table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Hungary 2 2 0 0 17 3 +14 4 Advance to knockout stage
2  West Germany 2 1 0 1 7 9 –2 2
3  Turkey 2 1 0 1 8 4 +4 2
4  South Korea 2 0 0 2 0 16 –16 0

1986 (Mexico)[edit]

South Korea started the first round of the Asian qualification against Malaysia and Nepal. After qualifying for the knockout stage as group winners of the first round, South Korea beat Indonesia and Japan in the second round and the final round, respectively. They received one of the two available World Cup spots for Asian teams.

In the World Cup finals, South Korea were allocated in group A with Argentina, Bulgaria and Italy. Their first match was against Argentina, who defeated them 3–1 with Diego Maradona playing a major role. In the match, Park Chang-sun scored the first South Korean goal in the World Cup history. South Korea drew the second match 1–1 with Bulgaria in a downpour, and lost the last group match 3–2 to defending champions Italy.

2 June 1986 Group A Argentina  3–1  South Korea Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City
12:00 UTC−5 Valdano 6', 46'
Ruggeri 18'		 Report Park Chang-sun 73' Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Victoriano Sánchez Arminio (Spain)
5 June 1986 Group A South Korea  1–1  Bulgaria Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City
16:00 UTC−5 Kim Jong-boo 70' Report Getov 11' Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Fallaj Al Shanar (Saudi Arabia)
10 June 1986 Group A South Korea  2–3  Italy Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla
12:00 UTC−5 Choi Soon-ho 62'
Huh Jung-moo 83'		 Report Altobelli 17', 73'
Cho Kwang-rae 82' (o.g.)		 Attendance: 20,000
Referee: David Socha (United States)
Group A table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Argentina 3 2 1 0 6 2 +4 5 Advance to knockout stage
2  Italy 3 1 2 0 5 4 +1 4
3  Bulgaria 3 0 2 1 2 4 −2 2
4  South Korea 3 0 1 2 4 7 −3 1

1990 (Italy)[edit]

South Korea won the Asian qualifying competition with nine victories and two draws without a defeat. However, they lost all three group matches against Belgium, Spain and Uruguay. Hwangbo Kwan scored the only tournament goal for South Korea with a long-range shot against Spain.[7]

12 June 1990 Group E Belgium  2–0  South Korea Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona
17:00 UTC+2 Degryse 53'
De Wolf 64'		 Report Attendance: 32,790
Referee: Vincent Mauro (United States)
17 June 1990 Group E South Korea  1–3  Spain Stadio Friuli, Udine
21:00 UTC+2 Hwangbo Kwan 42' Report Míchel 22', 61', 81' Attendance: 32,733
Referee: Elías Jácome (Ecuador)
21 June 1990 Group E South Korea  0–1  Uruguay Stadio Friuli, Udine
17:00 UTC+2 Report Fonseca 90' Attendance: 29,039
Referee: Tullio Lanese (Italy)
Group E table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Spain 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 5 Advance to knockout stage
2  Belgium 3 2 0 1 6 3 +3 4
3  Uruguay 3 1 1 1 2 3 −1 3
4  South Korea 3 0 0 3 1 6 −5 0

1994 (United States)[edit]

See also: 1993 Japan v Iraq football match

In the final round of the Asian qualification, the top two countries could advance to the 1994 FIFA World Cup, but South Korea was one point behind Japan and Saudi Arabia prior to playing the last qualifier against North Korea. South Korea couldn't qualify for the World Cup without a help of other countries. An Iraqi forward Jaffar Omran scored the equaliser in the last seconds of the match against Japan, and their match ended in a 2–2 draw.[8] In their match, South Korea defeated North Korea 3–0, finishing with the same number of points as Japan. Conclusionally, South Korea succeeded in getting a World Cup ticket with a better goal difference than Japan,[8] and this result was called the "Miracle of Doha" in South Korea.[9]

At the 1994 World Cup, South Korea made tight games with Spain and Bolivia, but they were eliminated in the group stage after losing 3–2 to Germany.

17 June 1994 Group C Spain  2–2  South Korea Cotton Bowl, Dallas
18:35 CDT (UTC–5) Salinas 51'
Goikoetxea 55'		 Report Hong Myung-bo 85'
Seo Jung-won 90'		 Attendance: 56,247
Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)
23 June 1994 Group C South Korea  0–0  Bolivia Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough
19:35 EDT (UTC–4) Report Attendance: 54,453
Referee: Leslie Mottram (Scotland)
27 June 1994 Group C Germany  3–2  South Korea Cotton Bowl, Dallas
15:05 CDT (UTC–5) Klinsmann 12', 37'
Riedle 20'		 Report Hwang Sun-hong 52'
Hong Myung-bo 63'		 Attendance: 63,998
Referee: Joël Quiniou (France)
Group C table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Germany 3 2 1 0 5 3 +2 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  Spain 3 1 2 0 6 4 +2 5
3  South Korea 3 0 2 1 4 5 −1 2
4  Bolivia 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1

1998 (France)[edit]

South Korea's former star player Cha Bum-kun managed the national team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In the first half of the first match against Mexico, Ha Seok-ju scored the opening goal with a free kick, but he was sent off for an ill-advised tackle three minutes later.[10] In the second half, South Korea failed to defend their 1–0 lead as Mexico scored three goals. They lost 5–0 to the Netherlands in the following match, and Cha was fired after the match.[11] The assistant manager Kim Pyung-seok replaced Cha, leading a 1–1 draw with Belgium.[12]

13 June 1998 Group E South Korea  1–3  Mexico Stade Gerland, Lyon
17:30 UTC+2 Ha Seok-ju 28' Report Peláez 51'
Hernández 74', 84'		 Attendance: 39,100
Referee: Günter Benkö (Austria)
20 June 1998 Group E Netherlands  5–0  South Korea Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
21:00 UTC+2 Cocu 38'
Overmars 42'
Bergkamp 71'
van Hooijdonk 80'
R. de Boer 83'		 Report Attendance: 55,000
Referee: Ryszard Wójcik (Poland)
25 June 1998 Group E Belgium  1–1  South Korea Parc des Princes, Paris
16:00 UTC+2 Nilis 7' Report Yoo Sang-chul 71' Attendance: 45,500
Referee: Márcio Rezende de Freitas (Brazil)
Group E table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Netherlands 3 1 2 0 7 2 +5 5 Advance to knockout stage
2  Mexico 3 1 2 0 7 5 +2 5
3  Belgium 3 0 3 0 3 3 0 3
4  South Korea 3 0 1 2 2 9 −7 1

2002 (South Korea and Japan)[edit]

South Korea was one of the host nations of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, along with Japan. Led by Dutch manager Guus Hiddink and his countryman Pim Verbeek, South Korean team won their first group match against Poland, achieving their first-ever World Cup victory.[13] Afterwards, they drew 1–1 with the United States in the following match and furthermore,[14] they defeated Portugal 1–0 in the last group match,[15] qualifying for the knockout stage as the group winners.[16]

In the round of 16, South Korea defeated Italy 2–1 after extra time,[17] although there were controversial refereeing decisions including Francesco Totti's second yellow card and an offside decision against Damiano Tommasi.[18] South Korea also defeated Spain on penalties in the quarter-finals, surpassing North Korea's result in 1966. However, their run was halted by losing 1–0 to Germany in the semi-finals.[19] They finished fourth in the tournament after losing 3–2 to Turkey in the third place match.[20][21] Team captain Hong Myung-bo won the Bronze Ball award.

4 June 2002 Group D South Korea  2–0  Poland Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Busan
20:30 UTC+9 Hwang Sun-hong 26'
Yoo Sang-chul 53'		 (Report) Attendance: 48,760
Referee: Oscar Ruíz (Colombia)
10 June 2002 Group D South Korea  1–1  United States Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu
15:30 UTC+9 Ahn Jung-hwan 78' (Report) Mathis 24' Attendance: 60,778
Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland)
14 June 2002 Group D Portugal  0–1  South Korea Incheon Munhak Stadium, Incheon
20:30 UTC+9 (Report) Park Ji-sung 70' Attendance: 50,239
Referee: Ángel Sánchez (Argentina)
Group D table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  South Korea 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  United States 3 1 1 1 5 6 −1 4
3  Portugal 3 1 0 2 6 4 +2 3
4  Poland 3 1 0 2 3 7 −4 3
18 June 2002 Round of 16 South Korea  2–1 (a.e.t.)  Italy Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Daejeon
20:30 UTC+9 Seol Ki-hyeon 88'
Ahn Jung-hwan gold-colored soccer ball 117' 		Report Vieri 18' Attendance: 38,588
Referee: Byron Moreno (Ecuador)
22 June 2002 Quarter-finals Spain  0–0 (a.e.t.)
(3–5 p)		  South Korea Gwangju World Cup Stadium, Gwangju
15:30 UTC+9 Report Attendance: 42,114
Referee: Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt)
Penalties
Hierro soccer ball with check mark
Baraja soccer ball with check mark
Xavi soccer ball with check mark
Joaquín soccer ball with red X		 soccer ball with check mark Hwang Sun-hong
soccer ball with check mark Park Ji-sung
soccer ball with check mark Seol Ki-hyeon
soccer ball with check mark Ahn Jung-hwan
soccer ball with check mark Hong Myung-bo
25 June 2002 Semi-finals Germany  1–0  South Korea Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul
20:30 UTC+9 Ballack 75' Report Attendance: 65,256
Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland)
29 June 2002 Third place match South Korea  2–3  Turkey Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu
20:00 UTC+9 Lee Eul-yong 9'
Song Chong-gug 90+3'		 Report Hakan Şükür 1'
İlhan 13', 32'		 Attendance: 63,483
Referee: Saad Mane (Kuwait)

2006 (Germany)[edit]

Former manager Jo Bonfrère qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but failed to satisfy the expectations of the Korea Football Association. Dick Advocaat replaced Bonfrère to participate in the World Cup,[22] but Advocaat secretly contracted with a Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg just before the tournament, for which he was criticized.[23]

Despite controversies about managers, South Korea defeated Togo 2–1 and drew 1–1 with eventual finalists France. However, they were eliminated in the group stage after losing 2–0 to Switzerland in the last match.

13 June 2006 Group G South Korea  2–1  Togo FIFA WM Stadion Frankfurt, Frankfurt
15:00 UTC+2 Lee Chun-soo 54'
Ahn Jung-hwan 72'		 Report Kader 31' Attendance: 48,000
Referee: Graham Poll (England)
18 June 2006 Group G France  1–1  South Korea Zentralstadion, Leipzig
21:00 UTC+2 Henry 9' Report Park Ji-sung 81' Attendance: 43,000
Referee: Benito Archundia (Mexico)
23 June 2006 Group G Switzerland  2–0  South Korea FIFA WM Stadion Hannover, Hanover
21:00 UTC+2 Senderos 23'
Frei 77'		 Report Attendance: 43,000
Referee: Horacio Elizondo (Argentina)
Group G table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Switzerland 3 2 1 0 4 0 +4 7 Advance to knockout stage
2  France 3 1 2 0 3 1 +2 5
3  South Korea 3 1 1 1 3 4 −1 4
4  Togo 3 0 0 3 1 6 −5 0

2010 (South Africa)[edit]

The Korean FA appointed Hiddink's predecessor Huh Jung-moo as the manager again after Pim Verbeek resigned due to mental stress at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.[24] Under Huh, South Korea won their group in the final round (fourth round) of the Asian qualifiers with four victories and four draws without a loss, easily qualifying for the 2010 tournament.[25] Park Ji-sung, Park Chu-young, Lee Chung-yong, and Ki Sung-yueng were in charge of South Korea's attack in the qualifiers, and were evaluated as four key players among the squad of the time.[26]

South Korea finished second in the Group B with four points, qualifying for the knockout stage. They were then eliminated from the tournament after losing to Uruguay in the round of 16.

12 June 2010 Group B South Korea  2–0  Greece Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
13:30 UTC+2 Lee Jung-soo 7'
Park Ji-sung 52'		 Report Attendance: 31,513
Referee: Michael Hester (New Zealand)[27]
17 June 2010 Group B Argentina  4–1  South Korea Soccer City, Johannesburg
13:30 UTC+2 Park Chu-young 17' (o.g.)
Higuaín 33', 76', 80'		 Report Lee Chung-yong 45+1' Attendance: 82,174
Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)[28]
22 June 2010 Group B Nigeria  2–2  South Korea Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
20:30 UTC+2 Uche 12'
Yakubu 69' (pen.)		 Report Lee Jung-soo 38'
Park Chu-young 49'		 Attendance: 61,874
Referee: Olegário Benquerença (Portugal)
Group B table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Argentina 3 3 0 0 7 1 +6 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  South Korea 3 1 1 1 5 6 –1 4
3  Greece 3 1 0 2 2 5 –3 3
4  Nigeria 3 0 1 2 3 5 –2 1
26 June 2010 Round of 16 Uruguay  2–1  South Korea Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
16:00 UTC+2 Suárez 8', 80' Report Lee Chung-yong 68' Attendance: 30,597
Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

2014 (Brazil)[edit]

Hong Myung-bo became the national team manager one year before the 2014 World Cup, and had to prepare for the competition in a short period of time. He called the bronze medalists of the 2012 Summer Olympics who had been led by him, but performed below par in the World Cup. They were pelted with yeot (a traditional Korean confectionery, which can sometimes be used to express insults) when they returned to South Korea.[29]

17 June 2014 Group H Russia  1–1  South Korea Arena Pantanal, Cuiabá
18:00 BRT–1 (UTC−4) Kerzhakov 74' Report Lee Keun-ho 68' Attendance: 37,603
Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)
22 June 2014 Group H South Korea  2–4  Algeria Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre
16:00 BRT (UTC−3) Son Heung-min 50'
Koo Ja-cheol 72'		 Report Slimani 26'
Halliche 28'
Djabou 38'
Brahimi 62'		 Attendance: 42,732
Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)
26 June 2014 Group H South Korea  0–1  Belgium Arena Corinthians, São Paulo
17:00 BRT (UTC−3) Report Vertonghen 78' Attendance: 61,397
Referee: Ben Williams (Australia)
Group H table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Belgium 3 3 0 0 4 1 +3 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  Algeria 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 4
3  Russia 3 0 2 1 2 3 –1 2
4  South Korea 3 0 1 2 3 6 –3 1

2018 (Russia)[edit]

South Korea national team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

For the combined qualification matches for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, South Korea won all seven matches without conceding a goal in the second round but following a series of poor results in the third round of qualifiers, including losses to China and Qatar, the former manager Uli Stielike was sacked and was replaced by under-23 coach Shin Tae-yong for the remainder of the qualifying round.[30] Under Shin Tae-yong, the team managed to qualify as the second-placed team in their group following two goalless draws against Iran and Uzbekistan, sending South Korea to the World Cup for the ninth consecutive time.[31] Shin quickly tested various tactics after the qualifiers, but he had difficulty carrying out his plan due to injuries of many players. Some of them were eventually excluded from the team.[32]

At the 2018 World Cup, they lost their first game against Sweden 1–0 after conceding from a penalty. They then faced Mexico and lost 2–1 after conceding another penalty. However, despite their two consecutive losses, South Korea was not eliminated just yet. To have any chance of advancing, South Korea would have to win their final group stage match against the defending champions Germany by at least two goals and Mexico would have to defeat Sweden in its last group stage game.[33] South Korea for its part did what it had to do to stay in contention and won 2–0 against Germany with goals from Kim Young-gwon and Son Heung-min, causing them to be eliminated in the first round for the first time in 80 years. Germany had 28 shots with 6 on target, but the South Korea's defense, led by keeper Jo Hyeon-woo, did not concede once.[34] However, Mexico lost to Sweden that same day and thus South Korea ultimately finished third in the group. As a result, South Korea saved Mexico from being eliminated and Mexican fans heavily praised the Koreans and celebrated their victory in front of the South Korean embassy.[35] The match is also called the "Miracle of Kazan" in South Korea although they dropped out of the tournament.[36]

18 June 2018 Group F Sweden  1–0  South Korea Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
15:00 UTC+3
Report
Attendance: 42,300
Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)
23 June 2018 Group F South Korea  1–2  Mexico Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
18:00 UTC+3
Report
Attendance: 43,472
Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)
27 June 2018 Group F South Korea  2–0  Germany Kazan Arena, Kazan
17:00 UTC+3
Report Attendance: 41,835
Referee: Mark Geiger (United States)
Group F table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Sweden 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 6 Advance to knockout stage
2  Mexico 3 2 0 1 3 4 –1 6
3  South Korea 3 1 0 2 3 3 0 3
4  Germany 3 1 0 2 2 4 –2 3

2022 (Qatar)[edit]

The South Korean team, led by manager Paulo Bento and captained by the reigning Premier League Golden Boot winner Son Heung-min, qualified for the World Cup as the second-placed team of the AFC qualifying group A.[37] After a goalless draw against Uruguay and a narrow defeat against Ghana, South Korea defeated Portugal 2–1 in the final match of the group stage with a stoppage-time goal by Hwang Hee-chan.[38] Uruguay defeated Ghana 2–0, which meant that South Korea advanced to the knockout stage for the first time since 2010 on virtue of scoring more goals than Uruguay, with the same number of points.[38] In the round of 16, the team was eliminated after losing 4–1 to Brazil.[39]

24 November 2022 Group H Uruguay  0–0  South Korea Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
16:00 UTC+3
Report
Attendance: 41,663
Referee: Clément Turpin (France)
28 November 2022 Group H South Korea  2–3  Ghana Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
16:00 UTC+3
Report
Attendance: 43,983
Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)
2 December 2022 Group H South Korea  2–1  Portugal Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
18:00 UTC+3
Report
Attendance: 44,097
Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)
Group H table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Portugal 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 6 Advance to knockout stage
2  South Korea 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
3  Uruguay 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
4  Ghana 3 1 0 2 5 7 –2 3
5 December 2022 Round of 16 Brazil  4–1  South Korea Stadium 974, Doha
22:00 UTC+3
Report
Attendance: 43,847
Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (PDF). FIFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  2. ^ Salmon, Andrew (13 June 2010). "2002 World Cup gave Koreans joyful turbulence". The Korea Times. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  3. ^ "All-star Reyna makes history". USA Today. 29 June 2002. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Ultimate South Korea dream team – Son & Park in, Lee Chun-soo out". goal.com. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
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