Korea beat El Salvador in final match before World Cup
Lee Dong-gyeong of Korea celebrates after scoring a goal against El Salvador during the teams' friendly football match at BYU South Field in Provo, Utah, June 3. Yonhap
PROVO, United States — Korea edged out El Salvador 1-0 on Wednesday in their final friendly match before the upcoming FIFA World Cup, as they enter the big tournament on the heels of two straight victories.
Midfielder Lee Dong-gyeong curled home a free kick in the 57th minute of the match at BYU South Field in Provo, Utah, for Korea's only goal of the match.
Korea previously beat Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 on Saturday. The Taegeuk Warriors will now travel to Guadalajara, Mexico, to set up their World Cup base camp.
Korea will play all three of their Group A matches in Mexico — two in Guadalajara and one in Monterrey.
Their first match will be against Czechia at 8 p.m. June 11 (local time) at Estadio Guadalajara, or 11 a.m. June 12 (Korean time).
Hwang Hee-chan of Korea, left, tries to move past Mauricio Cerritos of El Salvador during the teams' friendly football match at BYU South Field in Provo, Utah, June 3. Yonhap
Head coach Hong Myung-bo made whole changes to his starting lineup from the one that began the Trinidad and Tobago match, as eight new faces took the field. Defenders Lee Gi-hyuk and Lee Han-beom, and winger Lee Dong-gyeong were the only three players to make consecutive starts.
Those new players, though, were sloppy with the ball in their own zone early on and they weren't as connective as the group from the last match. They even allowed some counter breaks against El Salvador.
It took a set piece opportunity in the second half for Korea to finally get on the board, as Lee Dong-gyeong found the top right corner with his left-footed shot from just outside the box.
This was the fourth international goal for the 2025 K League 1 MVP.
Hong made eight substitutions just after the hour mark, with captain Son Heung-min and playmaking midfielder Lee Kang-in among those coming off the bench.
Lee Tae-seok of Korea, left, takes a shot against El Salvador during the teams' friendly football match at BYU South Field in Provo, Utah, Wednesday. Yonhap
They showed a little more life on offense, with Lee and others trying to find Son for scoring chances. But Korea settled for a one-goal victory.
Korea, world No. 25, enjoyed a 71-29 edge in possession over 100th-ranked El Salvador. They outshot El Salvador 6-0 and enjoyed a 14-3 advantage in shot attempts.