The South Korean national soccer team, which is trying to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, will target Kuwait, the first opponent of the “two consecutive away games in the Middle East,” with the raised toe sense of “captain” Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and “young blood” strikers who are out of injury.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play the fifth Group B match against Kuwait in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup at Jabeur Al Ahmed National Stadium in Kuwait City, Kuwait, at 11 p.m. on the 14th.
In the third qualifying round in Asia, South Korea continues its unbeaten streak with three wins and one draw (10 points) to lead the way.
Hong Myung-bo got off to a shaky start with a 0-0 home draw with Palestine in the first round, but beat Oman (3-1 win), Jordan (2-0 win, or more away) and Iraq (3-2 win, home) in a row to rise to first place.
Following Korea, Jordan (goal difference +4), Iraq (goal difference +1, 2 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss, 7 points), Oman (1 win, 3 loss), Kuwait (3, goal difference -4, 3 points) and Palestine (2, 2 losses, 2 points) ranked second to sixth in order.
The first and second place in each group of players in the third qualifying round will receive the right to advance to the World Cup finals. As a result, Team Hong Myung-bo has secured two consecutive wins in away matches in the Middle East (Kuwait and Palestine), and is committed to crossing the seventh ridge of advancing to the World Cup finals in North China and the U.S. with four consecutive A matches. 스포츠토토
After the match against Kuwait, Hong Myung-bo will play Group B 6 of the 3rd World Cup qualifying round against Palestine (ranking 100th) at Amman International Stadium in Amman, Jordan, at 11 p.m. on the 19th to complete this year’s A-match schedule.
Hong Myung-bo will bring home Oman and Jordan in March next year to play the 7th and 8th rounds of the third World Cup qualifying round.
South Korea, ranked 22nd in the FIFA rankings, has been leading Kuwait (135th) with 12 wins, 4 draws, and 8 losses in the previous matches, continuing its unbeaten streak (7 wins, 1 draw, 1 win for a total of 8 consecutive matches).
The last time South Korea lost to Kuwait was 24 years ago in the second Group B match (0-1 loss) of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup finals held in Lebanon on October 16, 2000.
Team Korea is in the best mood ahead of the match against Kuwait. Above all, Son Heung-min, the “captain” who missed the third to fourth rounds (Jordan and Iraq) of the World Cup qualifiers in October due to thigh injury, joined the national team and achieved a “complete” performance, which is raising morale.
In addition, “young blood” are also aiming for another shot, including Oh Se-hoon (Machida Zelvia) and Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk), who scored in the A-match in October when Son Heung-min was absent, and Bae Joon-ho (Stoke City), who wrote help for two consecutive games.
In addition, European offensive resources such as “youngest brother” Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), and Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) also taste goals in their teams, raise their scoring sense and join the national team to raise expectations.
In particular, fans are interested in Son’s bid to set a new A-match record. If Son, who has 49 goals in 129 A-match games, scores in the match against Kuwait, he will tie for second place with Hwang Sun-hong (50 goals), a “grand senior” in Korean men’s soccer history. Cha Bum-keun (58 goals) will take the first place.
Son Heung-min will play with the determination to reach the “50th goal mark” through two consecutive away games in the Middle East and finish the 2024 A-match schedule in a good mood.
