Korea to face US, Mexico in away football friendlies in September

Members of the South Korean men's national football team warm up before a training session at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, March 24. Yonhap

Korea will face two of the three host countries of the next FIFA World Cup in away friendly matches this fall, the sport's national federation said Wednesday.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said Korea, coached by Hong Myung-bo, will play the U.S. team at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, at 5 p.m. on Sept. 6 (6 a.m. on Sept. 7, Korean Standard Time). Then Korea will play Mexico on Sept. 9 at a venue to be determined later.

The United States and Mexico will be co-hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, along with Canada.

These will be the first set of away friendly matches for Korea since they played Wales and Saudi Arabia in Wales and England in September 2023.

Korea last played the U.S. in February 2014, when the Americans prevailed 2-0. The U.S. are No. 16 in the current FIFA rankings, seven spots ahead of Korea. But Korea hold the all-time edge with five wins, three draws and three losses.

The previous meeting between Korea and Mexico came in November 2015 in Austria, where Mexico had a 3-2 win. Korea have had four wins, two draws and eight losses against Mexico, currently world No. 17.

Korea are on the verge of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. In the ongoing third round of the Asian qualification, they are leading Group B with 16 points with two matches to go, three points ahead of Jordan and four better than Iraq. And with the top two teams booking their tickets to the World Cup, Korea can grab one with at least a draw against Iraq in their next qualifying match on June 5.

The final qualifying match will be at home against Kuwait on June 10.

The KFA said Hong will announce his squad for those matches May 26.

Korea have played in every World Cup since 1986, including as a co-host alongside Japan in 2002.