South Korea at the FIFA World Cup

For the women's team, see South Korea at the FIFA Women's World Cup.

The South Korea national football team have appeared eleven times at the FIFA World Cup, including ten consecutive tournaments from 1986 to 2022. The team made its World Cup debut in 1954, losing both matches and finishing fourth in the group stage. South Korea's best ever result is fourth place at the 2002 tournament, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. At the tournament, South Korea eliminated Italy and Spain in the round of 16 and quarter-finals, respectively, and thus became the first team outside Europe and the Americas to reach the semi-finals.

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1938	Part of Japan									Part of Japan
1950	Did not enter									Did not enter
1954	Group stage	2	0	0	2	0	16	Squad		2	1	1	0	7	3
1958	Did not enter									Entry denied by FIFA [1]
1962	Did not qualify									4	2	0	2	6	9
1966	Did not enter									Did not enter
1970	Did not qualify									4	1	2	1	6	5
1974										8	3	4	1	10	4
1978										12	5	6	1	16	9
1982										3	2	0	1	7	4
1986	Group stage	3	0	1	2	4	7	Squad		8	7	0	1	17	3
1990		3	0	0	3	1	6	Squad		11	9	2	0	30	1
1994		3	0	2	1	4	5	Squad		13	9	3	1	32	5
1998		3	0	1	2	2	9	Squad		12	9	2	1	28	8
2002	Fourth place	7	3	2	2	8	6	Squad		Qualified as hosts
2006	Group stage	3	1	1	1	3	4	Squad		12	7	3	2	18	7
2010	Round of 16	4	1	1	2	6	8	Squad		14	7	7	0	22	7
2014	Group stage	3	0	1	2	3	6	Squad		14	8	3	3	27	11
2018		3	1	0	2	3	3	Squad		18	12	3	3	38	10
2022	Round of 16	4	1	1	2	5	8	Squad		16	12	3	1	35	4
2026	To be determined									12	9	3	0	32	6
2030										To be determined
2034
Total	Fourth place	38	7	10	21	39	78	11/19 [a]		163	103	42	18	331	96

1. Statistics since 1948, when South Korea became a member of FIFA.

Team records

General records

First match	South Korea 0–9 Hungary   (17 June 1954; Zürich, Switzerland)
Biggest win	South Korea 2–0 Poland   (4 June 2002; Busan, South Korea)   South Korea 2–0 Greece   (12 June 2010; Port Elizabeth, South Africa)   South Korea 2–0 Germany   (27 June 2018; Kazan, Russia)
Biggest defeat	South Korea 0–9 Hungary   (17 June 1954; Zürich, Switzerland)

World records

See also: List of FIFA World Cup records and statistics

Fastest goal conceded from kickoff

11 seconds, Hakan Şükür (for Turkey against South Korea), 2002

Most goals conceded, one tournament

16, Hong Deok-young, 1954

Worst goal difference, one tournament

−16, South Korea, 1954

Biggest margin of loss

9, Hungary 9–0 South Korea, 1954 (joint record)

Biggest upset in the knockout stage, per FIFA rankings

+34 – South Korea (ranked 40) won 2–1 over Italy (ranked 6), 2002

Biggest upset of a defending champion, per FIFA rankings

+56 – South Korea (ranked 57) won 2–0 over Germany (ranked 1), 2018

Biggest upset of a top ranked team, per FIFA rankings

+56 – South Korea (ranked 57) won 2–0 over Germany (ranked 1), 2018

Head-to-head record

Opponent	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Confederation
Algeria	1	0	0	1	2	4	−2	CAF
Argentina	2	0	0	2	2	7	−5	CONMEBOL
Belgium	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	UEFA
Bolivia	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	CONMEBOL
Brazil	1	0	0	1	1	4	–3	CONMEBOL
Bulgaria	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	UEFA
France	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	UEFA
Germany	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	UEFA
Ghana	1	0	0	1	2	3	−1	CAF
Greece	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	UEFA
Hungary	1	0	0	1	0	9	−9	UEFA
Italy	2	1	0	1	4	4	0	UEFA
Mexico	2	0	0	2	2	5	−3	CONCACAF
Netherlands	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5	UEFA
Nigeria	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	CAF
Poland	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	UEFA
Portugal	2	2	0	0	3	1	+2	UEFA
Russia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	UEFA
Spain	3	0	2	1	3	5	−2	UEFA
Sweden	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	UEFA
Switzerland	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	UEFA
Togo	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	CAF
Turkey	2	0	0	2	2	10	−8	UEFA
United States	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	CONCACAF
Uruguay	3	0	1	2	1	3	−2	CONMEBOL
Total	38	7	10	21	39	78	–39

Player records

Most appearances

Hong Myung-bo is South Korea's most capped player at the FIFA World Cup.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Competitions
1	Hong Myung-bo	16	2	1990, 1994, 1998, 2002
2	Park Ji-sung	14	3	2002, 2006, 2010
3	Lee Young-pyo	12	0	2002, 2006, 2010
4	Lee Woon-jae	11	0	1994, 2002, 2006
	Kim Nam-il	11	0	2002, 2006, 2010
6	Hwang Sun-hong	10	2	1990, 1994, 2002
	Kim Tae-young	10	0	1998, 2002
	Yoo Sang-chul	10	2	1998, 2002
	Ahn Jung-hwan	10	3	2002, 2006
	Lee Chun-soo	10	1	2002, 2006
	Kim Young-gwon	10	2	2014, 2018, 2022
	Son Heung-min	10	3	2014, 2018, 2022

Top goalscorers

Park Ji-sung is the only South Korean player to score at three different FIFA World Cups.

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Competitions
1	Ahn Jung-hwan	3	10	2002, 2006
	Son Heung-min	3	10	2014, 2018, 2022
	Park Ji-sung	3	14	2002, 2006, 2010
4	Lee Jung-soo	2	4	2010
	Cho Gue-sung	2	4	2022
	Lee Chung-yong	2	7	2010, 2014
	Hwang Sun-hong	2	10	1990, 1994, 2002
	Yoo Sang-chul	2	10	1998, 2002
	Kim Young-gwon	2	10	2014, 2018, 2022
	Hong Myung-bo	2	16	1990, 1994, 1998, 2002

Awards

See also: FIFA World Cup awards

South Korea is the only Asian team to ever win a team award at a FIFA World Cup when they were voted the Most Entertaining Team in 2002 after finishing in fourth place. ^[2] In the same year, Hong Myung-bo and Yoo Sang-chul were voted members of the All-star team. ^[3] They are the only two Asians ever to be named in an All-star team. Hong also received the Bronze Ball award, becoming the first Asian player ever to receive the award. ^[4]

Details

1954 (Switzerland)

South Korea made their World Cup debut in 1954, becoming the second Asian team after Indonesia to ever enter the World Cup. Qualifying occurred in March 1954, barely one year after the end of the Korean War. Only South Korea and Japan competed for the Asian spot at the World Cup, and as the Koreans refused to give visas to their rivals and former colonizers, both qualifier games were held in Tokyo. With a squad that consisted entirely of army personnel, South Korea eliminated Japan with a 5–1 victory followed by a 2–2 draw. ^[5]

South Korea played games against Hungary and Turkey, losing 9–0 and 7–0 respectively. Hong Deok-young became the goalkeeper to concede the most goals in a single World Cup. ^[6]

Hungary   v   South Korea

17 June 1954 Group 2	Hungary	9–0	South Korea	Hardturm Stadium, Zürich
18:00  UTC+1	Puskás 12', 89' Lantos 18' Kocsis 24', 36', 50' Czibor 59' Palotás 75', 83'	Report		Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Raymond Vincenti (France)

Turkey   v   South Korea

20 June 1954 Group 2	Turkey	7–0	South Korea	Charmilles Stadium, Geneva
17:00  UTC+1	Suat 10', 30' Lefter 24' Burhan 37', 64', 70' Erol 76'	Report		Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Esteban Marino (Uruguay)

Group 2 table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Hungary	2	2	0	0	17	3	+14	4	Advance to knockout stage
2	West Germany	2	1	0	1	7	9	–2	2
3	Turkey	2	1	0	1	8	4	+4	2
4	South Korea	2	0	0	2	0	16	–16	0

1986 (Mexico)

South Korea started the first round of the Asian qualification against Malaysia and Nepal. After qualifying for the knockout stage as group winners of the first round, South Korea beat Indonesia and Japan in the second round and the final round, respectively. They received one of the two available World Cup spots for Asian teams.

In the World Cup finals, South Korea were allocated in group A with Argentina, Bulgaria and Italy. Their first match was against Argentina, who defeated them 3–1 with Diego Maradona playing a major role. In the match, Park Chang-sun scored the first South Korean goal in the World Cup history. South Korea drew the second match 1–1 with Bulgaria in a downpour, and lost the last group match 3–2 to defending champions Italy.

Argentina   v   South Korea

2 June 1986 Group A	Argentina	3–1	South Korea	Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City
12:00  UTC−5	Valdano 6', 46' Ruggeri 18'	Report	Park Chang-sun 73'	Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Victoriano Sánchez Arminio (Spain)

South Korea   v   Bulgaria

5 June 1986 Group A	South Korea	1–1	Bulgaria	Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City
16:00  UTC−5	Kim Jong-boo 70'	Report	Getov 11'	Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Fallaj Al Shanar (Saudi Arabia)

South Korea   v   Italy

10 June 1986 Group A	South Korea	2–3	Italy	Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla
12:00  UTC−5	Choi Soon-ho 62' Huh Jung-moo 83'	Report	Altobelli 17', 73' Cho Kwang-rae 82' (o.g.)	Attendance: 20,000 Referee: David Socha (United States)

Group A table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Argentina	3	2	1	0	6	2	+4	5	Advance to knockout stage
2	Italy	3	1	2	0	5	4	+1	4
3	Bulgaria	3	0	2	1	2	4	−2	2
4	South Korea	3	0	1	2	4	7	−3	1

1990 (Italy)

South Korea won the Asian qualifying competition with nine victories and two draws without a defeat. However, they lost all three group matches against Belgium, Spain and Uruguay. Hwangbo Kwan scored the only tournament goal for South Korea with a long-range shot against Spain. ^[7]

Belgium   v   South Korea

12 June 1990 Group E	Belgium	2–0	South Korea	Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona
17:00  UTC+2	Degryse 53' De Wolf 64'	Report		Attendance: 32,790 Referee: Vincent Mauro (United States)

South Korea   v   Spain

17 June 1990 Group E	South Korea	1–3	Spain	Stadio Friuli, Udine
21:00  UTC+2	Hwangbo Kwan 42'	Report	Míchel 22', 61', 81'	Attendance: 32,733 Referee: Elías Jácome (Ecuador)

South Korea   v   Uruguay

21 June 1990 Group E	South Korea	0–1	Uruguay	Stadio Friuli, Udine
17:00  UTC+2		Report	Fonseca 90'	Attendance: 29,039 Referee: Tullio Lanese (Italy)

Group E table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	3	2	1	0	5	2	+3	5	Advance to knockout stage
2	Belgium	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	4
3	Uruguay	3	1	1	1	2	3	−1	3
4	South Korea	3	0	0	3	1	6	−5	0

1994 (United States)

See also: 1993 Japan v Iraq football match

In the final round of the Asian qualification, the top two countries could advance to the 1994 FIFA World Cup, but South Korea was one point behind Japan and Saudi Arabia prior to playing the last qualifier against North Korea. South Korea couldn't qualify for the World Cup without a help of other countries. An Iraqi forward Jaffar Omran scored the equaliser in the last seconds of the match against Japan, and their match ended in a 2–2 draw. ^[8] In their match, South Korea defeated North Korea 3–0, finishing with the same number of points as Japan. Conclusionally, South Korea succeeded in getting a World Cup ticket with a better goal difference than Japan, ^[8] and this result was called the "Miracle of Doha" in South Korea. ^[9]

At the 1994 World Cup, South Korea made tight games with Spain and Bolivia, but they were eliminated in the group stage after losing 3–2 to Germany.

Spain   v   South Korea

17 June 1994 Group C	Spain	2–2	South Korea	Cotton Bowl, Dallas
18:35 CDT (UTC–5)	Salinas 51' Goikoetxea 55'	Report	Hong Myung-bo 85' Seo Jung-won 90'	Attendance: 56,247 Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)

South Korea   v   Bolivia

23 June 1994 Group C	South Korea	0–0	Bolivia	Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough
19:35 EDT (UTC–4)		Report		Attendance: 54,453 Referee: Leslie Mottram (Scotland)

Germany   v   South Korea

27 June 1994 Group C	Germany	3–2	South Korea	Cotton Bowl, Dallas
15:05 CDT (UTC–5)	Klinsmann 12', 37' Riedle 20'	Report	Hwang Sun-hong 52' Hong Myung-bo 63'	Attendance: 63,998 Referee: Joël Quiniou (France)

Group C table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	3	2	1	0	5	3	+2	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Spain	3	1	2	0	6	4	+2	5
3	South Korea	3	0	2	1	4	5	−1	2
4	Bolivia	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	1

1998 (France)

South Korea's former star player Cha Bum-kun managed the national team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In the first half of the first match against Mexico, Ha Seok-ju scored the opening goal with a free kick, but he was sent off for an ill-advised tackle three minutes later. ^[10] In the second half, South Korea failed to defend their 1–0 lead as Mexico scored three goals. They lost 5–0 to the Netherlands in the following match, and Cha was fired after the match. ^[11] The assistant manager Kim Pyung-seok replaced Cha, leading a 1–1 draw with Belgium. ^[12]

South Korea   v   Mexico

13 June 1998 Group E	South Korea	1–3	Mexico	Stade Gerland, Lyon
17:30  UTC+2	Ha Seok-ju 28'	Report	Peláez 51' Hernández 74', 84'	Attendance: 39,100 Referee: Günter Benkö (Austria)

Netherlands   v   South Korea

20 June 1998 Group E	Netherlands	5–0	South Korea	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
21:00  UTC+2	Cocu 38' Overmars 42' Bergkamp 71' van Hooijdonk 80' R. de Boer 83'	Report		Attendance: 55,000 Referee: Ryszard Wójcik (Poland)

Belgium   v   South Korea

25 June 1998 Group E	Belgium	1–1	South Korea	Parc des Princes, Paris
16:00  UTC+2	Nilis 7'	Report	Yoo Sang-chul 71'	Attendance: 45,500 Referee: Márcio Rezende de Freitas (Brazil)

Group E table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands	3	1	2	0	7	2	+5	5	Advance to knockout stage
2	Mexico	3	1	2	0	7	5	+2	5
3	Belgium	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3
4	South Korea	3	0	1	2	2	9	−7	1

2002 (South Korea and Japan)

South Korea was one of the host nations of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, along with Japan. Led by Dutch manager Guus Hiddink and his countryman Pim Verbeek, South Korean team won their first group match against Poland, achieving their first-ever World Cup victory. ^[13] Afterwards, they drew 1–1 with the United States in the following match and furthermore, ^[14] they defeated Portugal 1–0 in the last group match, ^[15] qualifying for the knockout stage as the group winners. ^[16]

In the round of 16, South Korea defeated Italy 2–1 after extra time, ^[17] although there were controversial refereeing decisions including Francesco Totti's second yellow card and an offside decision against Damiano Tommasi. ^[18] South Korea also defeated Spain on penalties in the quarter-finals, ^[19] surpassing North Korea's result in 1966. However, their run was halted by losing 1–0 to Germany in the semi-finals. ^[20] They finished fourth in the tournament after losing 3–2 to Turkey in the third place match. ^{[21] [22]} Team captain Hong Myung-bo won the Bronze Ball award.

South Korea   v   Poland

4 June 2002 Group D	South Korea	2–0	Poland	Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Busan
20:30  UTC+9	Hwang Sun-hong 26' Yoo Sang-chul 53'	(Report)		Attendance: 48,760 Referee: Oscar Ruíz (Colombia)

South Korea   v   United States

10 June 2002 Group D	South Korea	1–1	United States	Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu
15:30  UTC+9	Ahn Jung-hwan 78'	(Report)	Mathis 24'	Attendance: 60,778 Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland)

Portugal   v   South Korea

14 June 2002 Group D	Portugal	0–1	South Korea	Incheon Munhak Stadium, Incheon
20:30  UTC+9		(Report)	Park Ji-sung 70'	Attendance: 50,239 Referee: Ángel Sánchez (Argentina)

Group D table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	South Korea	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	United States	3	1	1	1	5	6	−1	4
3	Portugal	3	1	0	2	6	4	+2	3
4	Poland	3	1	0	2	3	7	−4	3

South Korea   v   Italy

18 June 2002 Round of 16	South Korea	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Italy	Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Daejeon
20:30  UTC+9	Seol Ki-hyeon 88' Ahn Jung-hwan 117'	Report	Vieri 18'	Attendance: 38,588 Referee: Byron Moreno (Ecuador)

Spain   v   South Korea

22 June 2002 Quarter-finals	Spain	0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–5 p)	South Korea	Gwangju World Cup Stadium, Gwangju
15:30  UTC+9		Report		Attendance: 42,114 Referee: Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt)
	Penalties
	Hierro Baraja Xavi Joaquín		Hwang Sun-hong Park Ji-sung Seol Ki-hyeon Ahn Jung-hwan Hong Myung-bo

Germany   v   South Korea

25 June 2002 Semi-finals	Germany	1–0	South Korea	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul
20:30  UTC+9	Ballack 75'	Report		Attendance: 65,256 Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland)

South Korea   v   Turkey

29 June 2002 Third place match	South Korea	2–3	Turkey	Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu
20:00  UTC+9	Lee Eul-yong 9' Song Chong-gug 90+3'	Report	Hakan Şükür 1' İlhan 13', 32'	Attendance: 63,483 Referee: Saad Mane (Kuwait)

2006 (Germany)

Former manager Jo Bonfrère qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but failed to satisfy the expectations of the Korea Football Association. Dick Advocaat replaced Bonfrère to participate in the World Cup, ^[23] but Advocaat secretly contracted with a Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg just before the tournament, for which he was criticized. ^[24]

Despite controversies about managers, South Korea defeated Togo 2–1 and drew 1–1 with eventual finalists France. However, they were eliminated in the group stage after losing 2–0 to Switzerland in the last match.

South Korea   v   Togo

13 June 2006 Group G	South Korea	2–1	Togo	FIFA WM Stadion Frankfurt, Frankfurt
15:00  UTC+2	Lee Chun-soo 54' Ahn Jung-hwan 72'	Report	Kader 31'	Attendance: 48,000 Referee: Graham Poll (England)

France   v   South Korea

18 June 2006 Group G	France	1–1	South Korea	Zentralstadion, Leipzig
21:00  UTC+2	Henry 9'	Report	Park Ji-sung 81'	Attendance: 43,000 Referee: Benito Archundia (Mexico)

Switzerland   v   South Korea

23 June 2006 Group G	Switzerland	2–0	South Korea	FIFA WM Stadion Hannover, Hanover
21:00  UTC+2	Senderos 23' Frei 77'	Report		Attendance: 43,000 Referee: Horacio Elizondo (Argentina)

Group G table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Switzerland	3	2	1	0	4	0	+4	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	France	3	1	2	0	3	1	+2	5
3	South Korea	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1	4
4	Togo	3	0	0	3	1	6	−5	0

2010 (South Africa)

The Korean FA appointed Hiddink's predecessor Huh Jung-moo as the manager again after Pim Verbeek resigned due to mental stress at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. ^[25] Under Huh, South Korea won their group in the final round (fourth round) of the Asian qualifiers with four victories and four draws without a loss, easily qualifying for the 2010 tournament. ^[26] Park Ji-sung, Park Chu-young, Lee Chung-yong, and Ki Sung-yueng were in charge of South Korea's attack in the qualifiers, and were evaluated as four key players among the squad of the time. ^[27]

South Korea finished second in the Group B with four points, qualifying for the knockout stage. They were then eliminated from the tournament after losing to Uruguay in the round of 16.

South Korea   v   Greece

12 June 2010 Group B	South Korea	2–0	Greece	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
13:30  UTC+2	Lee Jung-soo 7' Park Ji-sung 52'	Report		Attendance: 31,513 Referee: Michael Hester (New Zealand) [28]

Argentina   v   South Korea

17 June 2010 Group B	Argentina	4–1	South Korea	Soccer City, Johannesburg
13:30  UTC+2	Park Chu-young 17' (o.g.) Higuaín 33', 76', 80'	Report	Lee Chung-yong 45+1'	Attendance: 82,174 Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium) [29]

Nigeria   v   South Korea

22 June 2010 Group B	Nigeria	2–2	South Korea	Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban
20:30  UTC+2	Uche 12' Yakubu 69' (pen.)	Report	Lee Jung-soo 38' Park Chu-young 49'	Attendance: 61,874 Referee: Olegário Benquerença (Portugal)

Group B table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Argentina	3	3	0	0	7	1	+6	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	South Korea	3	1	1	1	5	6	–1	4
3	Greece	3	1	0	2	2	5	–3	3
4	Nigeria	3	0	1	2	3	5	–2	1

Uruguay   v   South Korea

26 June 2010 Round of 16	Uruguay	2–1	South Korea	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
16:00  UTC+2	Suárez 8', 80'	Report	Lee Chung-yong 68'	Attendance: 30,597 Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

2014 (Brazil)

Hong Myung-bo became the national team manager one year before the 2014 World Cup, and had to prepare for the competition in a short period of time. He called the bronze medalists of the 2012 Summer Olympics who had been led by him, but performed below par in the World Cup. They were pelted with yeot (a traditional Korean confectionery, which can sometimes be used to express insults) when they returned to South Korea. ^[30]

Russia   v   South Korea

17 June 2014 Group H	Russia	1–1	South Korea	Arena Pantanal, Cuiabá
18:00 BRT–1 (UTC−4)	Kerzhakov 74'	Report	Lee Keun-ho 68'	Attendance: 37,603 Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)

South Korea   v   Algeria

22 June 2014 Group H	South Korea	2–4	Algeria	Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre
16:00 BRT (UTC−3)	Son Heung-min 50' Koo Ja-cheol 72'	Report	Slimani 26' Halliche 28' Djabou 38' Brahimi 62'	Attendance: 42,732 Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)

South Korea   v   Belgium

26 June 2014 Group H	South Korea	0–1	Belgium	Arena Corinthians, São Paulo
17:00 BRT (UTC−3)		Report	Vertonghen 78'	Attendance: 61,397 Referee: Ben Williams (Australia)

Group H table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Belgium	3	3	0	0	4	1	+3	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	Algeria	3	1	1	1	6	5	+1	4
3	Russia	3	0	2	1	2	3	–1	2
4	South Korea	3	0	1	2	3	6	–3	1

2018 (Russia)

South Korea national team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

For the combined qualification matches for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, South Korea won all seven matches without conceding a goal in the second round but following a series of poor results in the third round of qualifiers, including losses to China and Qatar, the former manager Uli Stielike was sacked and was replaced by under-23 coach Shin Tae-yong for the remainder of the qualifying round. ^[31] Under Shin Tae-yong, the team managed to qualify as the second-placed team in their group following two goalless draws against Iran and Uzbekistan, sending South Korea to the World Cup for the ninth consecutive time. ^[32] Shin quickly tested various tactics after the qualifiers, but he had difficulty carrying out his plan due to injuries of many players. Some of them were eventually excluded from the team. ^[33]

At the 2018 World Cup, they lost their first game against Sweden 1–0 after conceding from a penalty. They then faced Mexico and lost 2–1 after conceding another penalty. However, despite their two consecutive losses, South Korea was not eliminated just yet. To have any chance of advancing, South Korea would have to win their final group stage match against the defending champions Germany by at least two goals and Mexico would have to defeat Sweden in its last group stage game. ^[34] South Korea for its part did what it had to do to stay in contention and won 2–0 against Germany with goals from Kim Young-gwon and Son Heung-min, causing them to be eliminated in the first round for the first time in 80 years. Germany had 28 shots with 6 on target, but the South Korea's defense, led by keeper Jo Hyeon-woo, did not concede once. ^[35] However, Mexico lost to Sweden that same day and thus South Korea ultimately finished third in the group. As a result, South Korea saved Mexico from being eliminated and Mexican fans heavily praised the Koreans and celebrated their victory in front of the South Korean embassy. ^[36] The match is also called the "Miracle of Kazan" in South Korea although they dropped out of the tournament. ^[37]

Sweden   v   South Korea

18 June 2018 Group F	Sweden	1–0	South Korea	Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
15:00  UTC+3	Claesson  61' Granqvist 65' (pen.)	Report	Kim Shin-wook  13' Hwang Hee-chan  55'	Attendance: 42,300 Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)

South Korea   v   Mexico

23 June 2018 Group F	South Korea	1–2	Mexico	Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
18:00  UTC+3	Kim Young-gwon  58' Lee Yong  63' Lee Seung-woo  72' Jung Woo-young  80' Son Heung-min 90+3'	Report	Vela 26' (pen.) Hernández 66'	Attendance: 43,472 Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)

South Korea   v   Germany

27 June 2018 Group F	South Korea	2–0	Germany	Kazan Arena, Kazan
17:00  UTC+3	Jung Woo-young  9' Lee Jae-sung  23' Moon Seon-min  48' Son Heung-min  65'90+6' Kim Young-gwon 90+4'	Report		Attendance: 41,835 Referee: Mark Geiger (United States)

Group F table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Sweden	3	2	0	1	5	2	+3	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Mexico	3	2	0	1	3	4	–1	6
3	South Korea	3	1	0	2	3	3	0	3
4	Germany	3	1	0	2	2	4	–2	3

2022 (Qatar)

The South Korean team, led by manager Paulo Bento and captained by the reigning Premier League Golden Boot winner Son Heung-min, qualified for the World Cup as the second-placed team of the AFC qualifying group A. ^[38] After a goalless draw against Uruguay and a narrow defeat against Ghana, South Korea defeated Portugal 2–1 in the final match of the group stage with a stoppage-time goal by Hwang Hee-chan. ^[39] Uruguay defeated Ghana 2–0, which meant that South Korea advanced to the knockout stage for the first time since 2010 on virtue of scoring more goals than Uruguay, with the same number of points. ^[39] In the round of 16, the team was eliminated after losing 4–1 to Brazil. ^[40]

Uruguay   v   South Korea

24 November 2022 Group H	Uruguay	0–0	South Korea	Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
16:00  UTC+3	Cáceres  57'	Report	Cho Gue-sung  88'	Attendance: 41,663 Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

South Korea   v   Ghana

28 November 2022 Group H	South Korea	2–3	Ghana	Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
16:00  UTC+3	Jung Woo-young  27' Cho Gue-sung 58', 61' Kim Young-gwon  77'	Report	Amartey  21' Salisu 24' Kudus 34', 68' Lamptey  73'	Attendance: 43,983 Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

South Korea   v   Portugal

2 December 2022 Group H	South Korea	2–1	Portugal	Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan
18:00  UTC+3	Kim Young-gwon 27' Lee Kang-in  36' Hwang Hee-chan 90+1' 90+2'	Report	Horta 5'	Attendance: 44,097 Referee: Facundo Tello (Argentina)

Group H table
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Portugal	3	2	0	1	6	4	+2	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	South Korea	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
3	Uruguay	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
4	Ghana	3	1	0	2	5	7	–2	3

Brazil   v   South Korea

5 December 2022 Round of 16	Brazil	4–1	South Korea	Stadium 974, Doha
22:00  UTC+3	Vinícius 7' Neymar 13' (pen.) Richarlison 29' Paquetá 36'	Report	Jung Woo-young  44' Paik Seung-ho 76'	Attendance: 43,847 Referee: Clément Turpin (France)

See also

• History of the South Korea national football team
• South Korea at the AFC Asian Cup
• South Korea at the CONCACAF Gold Cup

References

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External links

• Korea Football Association official website (in Korean)
• South Korea at FIFA official website