Korean attack comes to life for win in pre-World Cup tuneup

Son Heung-min, captain of Korea, celebrates after scoring a goal against Trinidad and Tobago during the teams' friendly football match at BYU South Field in Provo, Utah, May 30. Yonhap

It took Korea more than half an hour of action to get going but it's always better late than never.

Korea hammered Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 in the first of their two pre-World Cup friendly matches in Utah on Saturday (local time). Captain Son Heung-min got the start at forward and netted twice in the first half at BYU South Field in Provo, while his replacement in the second half, Cho Gue-sung, also had a brace. Hwang Hee-chan, another second-half sub, converted a second-half penalty.

With Trinidad and Tobago, world No. 102, sitting back and crowding their own zone, 25th-ranked Korea had some difficulty generating chances early on.

They nearly broke through in the 31st minute, when Paik Seung-ho met Kim Moon-hwan's cross with a head but was denied by goalkeeper Jabari Brice.

The near-goal seemed to awaken Korea's attack, and Son put the team on the board in the 40th minute, with Kim serving as the facilitator.

Son's penalty three minutes later doubled Korea's lead, and the rout was on. The Taegeuk Warriors began making much crisper passes in the attacking area, showing a far better flow on that end than they did when losing to Ivory Coast and Austria by a combined score of 5-0 in March.

Head coach Hong Myung-bo deployed a back-three system, with Lee Gi-hyuk, Cho Yu-min and Lee Han-beom getting the start as the defenders. Jens Castrop and Kim Moon-hwan started as the wingbacks, tasked with helping out the center backs on defense and also with driving the attack on the flanks when Korea had the ball.

With the defense not really challenged by Trinidad and Tobago, Castrop and Kim had plenty of time to spend in the offensive zone.

Lee, widely considered the biggest surprise pick for the World Cup squad, was playing only in his second career international match but didn't look the part of an untested player as he kept handling the ball with confidence. Lee made some aggressive forays into the opposition zone, giving Castrop and other teammates an extra passing option on the left side.

Lee later thanked his coaching staff and teammates for giving him an opportunity to be part of a big victory.

"I was nervous but I am just happy I played without making glaring mistakes," Lee said. "But I am not going to be content with this. I will try to play even better the next time."

Lee said he tried to capitalize on all the space he had in the back-three formation.

"Our attackers made great off-ball movements and I had so many options when I had the ball," he added. "I tried to make the best choice every time. I also have to minimize mistakes and do my job as a defender."

Lee said Hong, a former star defender, told him to make simple plays and time his passes to the rhythm of the receiving players on offense.

"My teammates told me I had a good match but I have to take another step if I want to play well at the World Cup," the 25-year-old said. "I will push myself harder."

As Lee and Castrop put pressure on defense on that side, it opened up space on the right flank for Kim and winger Lee Dong-gyeong, who assisted Cho's first goal with a cross.

Cho added another for his first multigoal performance for Korea since he netted twice against Ghana at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

It made Cho the first Korean player to score twice in a World Cup match. After recovering from complications of a knee surgery that kept him out of action for over a year, Cho is now trying to stake his claim on the starting striker spot.

"I'm happy with this big win and it's great to see everyone get involved on offense," Cho said. "We have one more match to go before the World Cup and hopefully, we will win that match as well and go into the World Cup feeling good about ourselves."

Cho was referring to the next match against 100th-ranked El Salvador on Wednesday, also at BYU South Field. The one downside to Saturday's victory was that Korea's defense didn't have to do much work and it was difficult to predict how they would stack up against tougher foes in the World Cup.

El Salvador may not be much better than Trinidad and Tobago, and Korean defenders will have to get creative to stay sharp for the more important matches on the horizon.

Korea will begin their World Cup on June 11 against Czechia in Guadalajara, Mexico.