South Korea will compete in their 10th consecutive World Cup in North America, enjoying the most successful spell in their history, and they will hope to be right up there as one of the highest performing Asian nations in the tournament.
World Cup History
The Tigers of Asia have competed in eleven World Cups, once as joint hosts in 2002 alongside Japan, where they became the first team outside of Europe and the Americas to reach a World Cup semi final.
South Korea have also been at every tournament since Mexico 1986, including the World Cup in the United States in 1994, so they will be hoping to enjoy a successful run at their third tournament in North America.
Their highest finish at a World Cup was that 2002 World Cup held in South Korea and Japan where they finished fourth, but the Taegeuk Warriors have also reached the Round of 16 on two occasions.
Before this run of ten consecutive World Cups, South Korea had only appeared at the 1954 tournament in Switzerland where they were unable to make it out of the group stages.
Qualification and Recent Form
South Korea are 25th in the FIFA rankings, having recently dropped three places thanks to their recent losses in the March international break.
In qualification for this tournament, the Taegeuk Warriors topped their group, not seeing defeat in any of the ten matches, meaning they have not lost a competitive match since the Asian Cup semi-final in February 2024, where Jordan beat them 2-0.
Since qualifying for the World Cup, the Tigers of Asia have competed in eight friendlies, winning four, drawing one and losing three, but their most recent two against the Ivory Coast, which was played in Milton Keynes, and Austria finished 4-0 and 1-0 respectively, with South Korea on the losing side in both.
Yet, this does mean that since the 2022 Qatar World Cup, South Korea have only lost six matches in total with this record including friendlies, but with two of these coming three months before the start of the 2026 World Cup, they are going into it out of their best form.
Manager – Myung-Bo Hong
One of the most decorated Asian defenders of all time, Hong Myung-Bo is in his second spell as first team manager of South Korea, having also had a brief stint as the assistant manager.
He played in four World Cups himself for South Korea, the first in 1990, the last the 2002 tournament in Korea and Japan, where he won the Bronze Ball, awarded to the player deemed third best at the entire tournament, becoming the first Asian player to win an individual award at a World Cup.
Until 2025 the experienced defender was South Korea’s all time top appearance maker, earning 136 caps, but last year he was overtaken by Son Heung-Min with 142.
In terms of club career, the 57 year old made the most appearances for Pohang Steelers, where he played 110 games, before moving to Bellmare Hiratsuka and Kashiwa Reysol, although he returned to Steelers in 2002. After only one season he moved to LA Galaxy where he played 38 games. Across all of his clubs, Myung-Bo made 281 appearances, and found the net 21 times, a feat he managed additionally ten times for his country.
This is his second World Cup in charge of the Taegeuk Warriors, having taken charge at the 2014 tournament, where South Korea ended winless, leading to Myung-Bo’s resignation. He rejoined the National Team in 2024 with the aim to lead South Korea to success at the 2026 World Cup.
Key Player – Son Heung-Min
Son Heung-Min has been one of Tottenham Hotspur’s most successful players over the past 10 years, joining Spurs in 2015, and only leaving last year to join Los Angeles FC in the MLS.
He made over 300 appearances for Tottenham, scoring 127 goals, and was for a period one of the most dangerous attackers in the Premier League, forming a dangerous partnership with Harry Kane for a number of seasons, even winning the Golden Boot in the 21/22 season.
When Kane left Spurs in 2023, Son as well as Tottenham struggled, and he has never really been the same, even since his move to the MLS.
However, as the United States are one of the host countries, the South Korean captain will be used to the climate, and has experience playing in a number of the stadiums in use at the World Cup.
He is now 33 and there is a high chance this is his last World Cup for the Tigers of Asia, so he will want to make it even more memorable than the previous three that he has competed in.
In the 2022 World Cup Son failed to score, although he bagged three goals across the 2014 and 2018 tournaments – the captain will be desperate to get on the scoresheet in North America.
Matches
South Korea, who were drawn from Pot Two, are in Group A alongside one of the hosts with that being Mexico, and will compete in the second game of the entire 2026 World Cup, facing Czechia. South Africa are the other team in the group.
In terms of head to head, South Korea have won, drawn and lost against Czechia in their three meetings, the most recent a loss in a 2016 friendly, this being the two sides first competitive meeting.
South Korea will be hoping to top the group, and there will be some expectations in doing so, but hosts Mexico are a huge obstacle standing in their way, with a home crowd roaring behind them.
South Korea vs Czechia – Guadalajara – Friday 12th June (03:00)
Mexico vs South Korea – Guadalajara – Friday 19th June (02:00)
South Africa vs South Korea – Monterrey – Thursday 25th June (02:00)
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