Korea cruise past Singapore to kick off World Cup qualification

Son Heung-min of South Korea celebrates after scoring against Singapore during the teams' Group C match in the second round of the Asian World Cup qualification tournament at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

South Korea shut down Singapore 5-0 to begin their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign Thursday, with captain Son Heung-min being one of five different goal scorers for the balanced attack.

Forward Cho Gue-sung netted South Korea's first goal just before the end of the first half, and assisted on Hwang Hee-chan's header goal soon after the restart at Seoul World Cup Stadium in the capital city. Son scored off his left foot on 63 minutes, and Hwang Ui-jo converted a penalty to blow the match wide open five minutes later.

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee Kang-in rounded out the scoring on 85 minutes, as he found the back of the net for the third straight match.

South Korea now have 22 wins in 27 meetings against Singapore, along with three draws and two losses.

This was the first Group C match for both countries in the second round of the Asian qualification for the 2026 World Cup. South Korea will travel to Shenzhen, China, to play China next Tuesday for the final World Cup qualifying match of 2023.

The Taegeuk Warriors will next have a home-and-away series against Thailand in March 2024.

South Korea will try to extend their consecutive World Cup appearance streak to 11, having competed at every World Cup since 1986.

After spending the majority of the opening half in the attacking zone, South Korea finally broke through on 44 minutes.

In possession of the ball on the right wing, Lee Kang-in curled a cross toward the box, and forward Cho Gue-sung sprinted in behind the defense to slot the ball home for the 1-0 lead. Lee timed the pass perfectly as Singapore's defenders were caught standing and watching the ball.

South Korea could have built an even bigger lead with a more clinical touch around the goal.

Hwang In-beom first tested the Singaporean defense with a midrange shot with his left foot on nine minutes. In the 21st minute, Lee Jae-sung poked home a headed pass from Cho, only to have the goal wiped out on an offside call.

Some seven minutes after the non-goal, Lee Kang-in set up Lee Jae-sung for a diving header that bounced off the leg of the goalkeeper Hassan Sunny.

Cho Gue-sung of South Korea celebrates after scoring against Singapore during the teams' Group C match in the second round of the Asian World Cup qualification tournament at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Cho then struck the crossbar with a volley from the goalmouth on 34 minutes, though he did have his moment to shine about 10 minutes later thanks to Lee Kang-in's assist.

Cho nearly headed in his second goal of the match about three minutes after the restart, when his header, set up by Seol Young-woo, sailed just above the bar.

Moments later, Cho took on the helper's role, as his cross from the right side connected with Hwang Hee-chan's head for South Korea's second goal.

Hwang, winger for Wolverhampton Wanderers, has now scored in back-to-back matches for only the second time in his international career.

Singapore thought they had cut the deficit in half on 54 minutes when Shawal Anuar got behind everyone to poke home a pass from Safuwan Baharudin, but the play was ruled offside.

It was all South Korea the rest of the way.

Son Heung-min made it 3-0 South Korea on 63 minutes. After securing the ball outside the right side of the box, Son cut toward the middle and curled the ball into the top left-hand corner with his left foot.

Hwang Ui-jo put South Korea up by four goals with a penalty on 68 minutes, awarded when Seol Young-woo was taken down in the box by South Korean-born Singaporean midfielder Song Ui-young.

Lee Kang-in then scored his fourth goal in three matches on 85 minutes. Defender Christopher van Huizen tried to send a cross out of harm's way with his head but the ball instead landed right at Lee's feet. With plenty of time and space, Lee calmly struck it past Sunny to make it a 5-0 match.

The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. It will be the first edition to feature 48 nations, up from the current 32.

In the second round in Asia, 36 nations have been paired into nine groups of four. The top two teams from each group, 18 in total, will advance to the third round.

Those 18 will be divided into three groups of six in the third round. The top two teams from each group there will qualify for the big tournament.

The third- and fourth-place teams from the three groups will still have another shot at qualifying in the fourth round. (Yonhap)