Korea routs Singapore to book 3rd-round spot in World Cup qualification

Son Heung-min, left, is in action with Singapore's Harhys Stewart during the 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC qualifiers football match between Singapore and Korea at National Statdium in Singapore, June 6. Reuters-Yonhap

Two of their biggest stars each grabbed a brace, as Korea hammered Singapore 7-0 on Thursday to clinch a spot in the next phase in the Asian World Cup qualifying campaign.

Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur and Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain each had two goals in Korea's dominant win in the Group C match in the second round of the Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Ulsan HD FC forward Joo Min-kyu netted his first international goal and set up three others, while two England-based players, Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bae Jun-ho of Stoke City, contributed a goal each.

With 13 points, Korea is guaranteed to finish among the top two in the group with one final match against China coming up Tuesday in Seoul. The top two teams from each of the nine groups in the second round will advance to the third round, which kicks off in September.

In the other Group C match Thursday, China and Thailand finished in a 1-1 draw. China sit in second place with eight points, followed by Thailand with five points. China will grab the second seed in Group C with either a draw or a win against Korea next week.

Thailand must beat Singapore and have China lose to Korea on Tuesday to have a shot at reaching the third round by winning the goal-difference tiebreaker. China's goal differential is +1, compared to Thailand's -2.

Korea had blanked Singapore 5-0 in their first Group C meeting last November in Seoul. And the Taegeuk Warriors, world No. 23, enjoyed another breezy match against their 155th-ranked opponent.

Lee put Korea on the board nine minutes into the match. After Son's shot was turned aside by goalkeeper Hassan Sunny, Joo gathered the rebound on the right side of the box before finding Lee. The left-footed midfielder then danced past multiple defenders and fired a rare right-footed shot past Hassan.

Joo Min-kyu, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring during the 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC qualifiers football match between Singapore and Korea at the National Stadium in Singapore on June 6. AFP-Yonhap

Joo put himself on the scoresheet in the 20th minute, heading home a cross by Kim Jin-su for his first international goal. The two-time K League 1 scoring champion only made his international debut in March, and this was his third match for Korea.

At 34 years and 54 days old, Joo became the second oldest player to score his first international goal for Korea.

Korea blew the match wide open with three goals in a three-minute span in the second half.

Son made it 3-0 in the 53rd minute after taking a long feed from Joo on the left wing, cutting back toward the center and unleashing a right-footed shot.

Moments later, Lee scored his second goal of the evening, with Joo once again setting it up after forcing a Singapore turnover near the box.

Son joined the brace club just two minutes later, scoring almost a carbon copy of his first goal.

Son now has 48 international goals, two behind former striker Hwang Sun-hong for second place on the Korean scoring list. Cha Bum-kun is at the top with 58 goals.

Lee Kang-in scores their first goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup AFC qualifiers football match between Singapore and Korea at National Stadium in Singapore, June 6. Reuters-Yonhap

Bae scored his first international marker in his senior national team debut in the 79th minute, before Hwang Hee-chan rounded out the scoring three minutes later.

This was Korea's largest victory since beating Sri Lanka 8-0 in a 2022 World Cup qualifying match in September 2019.

Korea played their third straight match under a caretaker boss. With the Korea Football Association (KFA) unable to find a full-time replacement for Jurgen Klinsmann, who was fired in February, Hwang Sun-hong, then head coach of the men's under-23 national team, served as the temporary boss for two World Cup qualifiers in March.

The KFA then missed its self-imposed, early-May deadline to hire a new coach. It named former K League coach Kim Do-hoon as the second caretaker manager for the two World Cup qualifying matches in June. (Yonhap)