Coach Hong Myung-bo has advanced to the World Cup finals for 11 consecutive times. Son Heung-min is in the process of preparing for the World Cup finals

Jun 06, 2025

Korea's A national team coach Hong Myung-bo will enter a full-fledged preparation system for the World Cup finals.

South Korea's A national team returned home via Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of the 6th. Earlier at 3:15 a.m. on the 6th (Korea time), he won 2-0 in the 9th away match of Group B of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup against the Iraqi national team at Basra International Stadium.

With the victory, South Korea ranked first in Group B, beating Jordan (16 points), with five wins and four draws and 19 points in the third qualifying round. He also widened the gap with third-place Iraq (12 points), confirming his advance to the finals of the North-China World Cup regardless of the remaining results against Kuwait. The record for consecutive finals, which began at the 1986 Mexico Games, has increased to 11.

It wasn't an easy game. The hot weather, 50,000 Iraqi spectators filling the stadium, and a chaotic atmosphere that caused two crowd invasions shook the players. Nevertheless, he did not lose his concentration until the end and won the World Cup finals with a scoreless victory. Hong Myung-bo, who has succeeded in advancing to the World Cup finals, is scheduled to enter a long-term race from the match against Kuwait on the 10th to prepare for the World Cup finals in earnest.

Coach Hong Myung-bo said, `I sincerely thank the fans for supporting the players until late at night. It was a difficult environment, but I was able to get results because I had a very strong desire to advance to the World Cup", he expressed his feelings.

Coach Hong expressed his determination to do his best until the qualifying match against Kuwait despite confirming his qualification for the World Cup finals. "We have to do our best until the game on the 10th. We need to think more about which player will play. There are not many opportunities to test young players to compete in the World Cup. You can't just watch the game. You have to run yourself. Those are the poems that should be carried out immediately." Coach Hong will check the future Club World Cup games in person and start preparing for the East Asian Cup in July.

As for the plan to operate the match against Kuwait "If it consists of young players, it is possible to be a member now." The same goes for defense and offense. Since it has been decided to go to the finals, I think we should go to the World Cup system from this moment on, but I'm thinking of using young players once."

He also praised the K-League players who played against Iraq. Hong said, "(The players in Europe must have felt difficult in their condition. However, those players also played an important role in experience and ability. The K-League players in the second half maintained good form and showed what they had. I hope there will be good synergy in the national team."

He also mentioned captain Son Heung-min's condition. Earlier, Son Heung-min was absent from the ninth game against Iraq due to the aftermath of his injury. Coach Hong said, `The injury did not heal completely. If you overdo it, you could have run for 2 to 30 minutes, but it is not desirable for a player. The season is over and he suffered from injuries. Whether or not to play in the next game will be decided after two to three days. It's not the time to overdo it. Son Heung-min did not play a role in the stadium, but he played his role well outside. The players took those things well and went to the game. played an important role in and out of the stadium" he evaluated.

The Korean national team, which arrived through Incheon International Airport on the 6th, will later disband and gather again on the 8th. Training for the match against Kuwait will resume at the Paju NFC from the 8th.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.