Klinsmann’s men take the first step toward qualifying for an 11th consecutive World Cup.
The South Korean national football team, coached by Jürgen Klinsmann, will open the 2026 North American Football Championship Asia Second Qualifying Round Group C at home against Singapore on Saturday at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. The team will then face China in Shenzhen, China, on Nov. 21 for the second leg.
South Korean soccer made its first appearance at the World Cup in 1954 in Switzerland and has qualified for 10 consecutive tournaments since 1986 in Mexico. This time around, they will be looking to make their 11th consecutive appearance and 12th overall.
South Korea has called up its full squad, including Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich). The 24th-ranked South Koreans have the advantage in strength over fellow group members Singapore (155th) and China (79th), as well as Thailand (112th). Nevertheless, a full squad that won two straight A-Match matches in October paves the way for the Asian Cup in Qatar next January.
They hold a commanding 21-3-2 record against their first opponents, Singapore. It’s been 33 years since they last met at the Beijing Asian Games in September 1990, when they won 7-0. The outcome of the match will depend on how quickly the Koreans open the scoring against Singapore, who are expected to play a tight defense and look to counterattack.
Son Heung-min, who is playing in his fourth World Cup, said at a press conference on Friday, a day before the match, “The World Cup journey is long. Sometimes you’re on a good road, sometimes you fall off, and sometimes you have to go through thorns.” “The experienced players have to protect (the team) well. I hope we can go all the way to the final qualifier.” “It’s hard for any team to break through when they’re completely defensive,” he said of Singapore, “so it’s going to be a matter of being able to create chances early and being able to convert those chances early.” 토토사이트
The North and Central American World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, will expand the field from 32 to 48 nations and increase the number of tickets allocated to Asia from 4.5 to 8.5.
A total of 36 teams, including 10 teams from Singapore and 26 teams from South Korea, who skipped the first round of Asian qualifiers last month, will be divided into nine groups to compete in the second round of qualifiers through June next year. The top two teams from each group, a total of 18 teams, will qualify for the third round of qualification and a direct ticket to the 2027 Asian Cup. The third round of qualifying, which runs from September next year through June 2025, will feature three groups of six teams, with the top six teams from each group advancing directly to the World Cup. The remaining 2.5 spots will be decided through a playoff (PO) and intercontinental PO.