Underwhelming Korea team leaves much to be desired before World Cup
Korean players celebrate their 1-0 win over Ghana in the teams' friendly football match at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
For those who worship at the altar of "a win is a win" mantra, the men's national football team had a really good year, as they posted eight wins, three draws and two losses.
Upon closer inspection, though, it's not that difficult to identify Korea as a deeply flawed team with issues that must be addressed ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Coached by Hong Myung-bo, 22nd-ranked Korea defeated No. 76 Bolivia 2-0 last Friday and then No. 73 Ghana 1-0 on Tuesday in their final two matches of the year. While Hong stressed the importance of results above all else — with Korea needing to win to maintain their FIFA ranking spot and assure themselves a favorable position in the World Cup draw next month — the team's inability to beat underdog opponents convincingly did not sit well with fans.
That was the recurring theme throughout the year, with Korea consistently underperforming and failing to live up to expectations of the increasingly restless fan base.
Korea opened the year with consecutive 1-1 draws at home against two heavy underdogs, Oman and Jordan. These matches came during the third round of the Asian World Cup qualification, and Hong called the Oman draw "the worst performance" by his side during that phase.
Korea righted the ship and won the next two matches to punch their ticket to the World Cup in June. Then in July, as the host of the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship, Korea defeated China and Hong Kong in succession before falling to Japan with the regional title on the line.
Korea traveled to America for two friendlies in September and beat the United States 2-0 before playing Mexico to a 2-2 draw.
That win over the U.S. was Korea's most complete effort of the year, with the solid defense shutting down the top-20 opponent, while captain Son Heung-min did his thing with a goal and an assist.
Then came the embarrassing, 5-0 loss to Brazil in front of over 63,000 fans at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Oct. 10, a match so lopsided that Korea could easily have lost by a bigger margin.
Fans then started staying away, with only 22,000 of them on hand to watch the national team beat Paraguay 2-0 at the same Seoul stadium on Oct. 14. It was the smallest crowd for a men's national football team match in 10 years. The Ghana match on Tuesday, also played in Seoul, drew about 33,000 fans. Even considering the chilly conditions, it was a shockingly low number for what could have been Korea's final match at home before the World Cup — with the Korea Football Association trying to schedule tuneup matches in March next year before the big tournament rolls around in June.
Since taking over the team in the summer of 2024 for his second stint with Korea, Hong has often been criticized for lacking tactical creativity and relying too heavily on individual talent of some players to generate chances. The offense under Hong has generally lacked flow and has been too predictable.
It's one thing to have the likes of Son and playmaking midfielder Lee Kang-in do the heavy lifting with their brilliance in friendly matches or World Cup qualifiers against lowly foes. At the World Cup, though, Korea will run into tougher opponents whose defenses will zero in on those stars with added intensity and will force Korea to find different ways to score.
In the two November matches, Korea sorely missed midfielder Hwang In-beom, who suffered a thigh injury earlier in the month while playing for his Dutch club Feyenoord. None of the remaining midfielders came close to matching Hwang's two-way excellence — his ability to make stops on defense and create scoring chances seemingly out of nothing with his smart passes — and the two matches felt especially bogged down.
Hong acknowledged Tuesday that the subpar performance by his midfielders dragged the rest of the team down against Ghana, though he also predicted that Hwang's eventual return for the World Cup will solve many of the problems seen this month.
That the absence of one player, however important, can alter the team's trajectory so much is a concern in and of itself.
Lee Kang-in, who has gradually emerged as the vocal leader of the national team, said Tuesday he and his teammates will try to block out noise coming from outside their locker room.
"Football fans all have different perspectives, and even players have different ways of watching and understanding the game. I can totally see why fans feel the way they do about our team," the 24-year-old said. "However, rather than paying much attention to those voices, we're all trying to help the team the best we can. It'd be great if we can play the way that can satisfy everyone. But as we get ready for the World Cup, I think we should concentrate more on making plays that benefit the team and on helping each other."
Hwang Hee-chan, a veteran of 75 caps, said 2025 was a fruitful year for the national team because they won so many games against "some really strong teams."
"In football, results are really important, and we were able to produce the results we wanted this year," Hwang said. "I think these two matches here were huge. This camp brought us even closer as a team, and we've grown more confident that we can really get the job done. I can't wait for our next match window (in March)."