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| ◇Sportschosun DB |
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| ◇Sportschosun DB |
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Korean soccer has completed its 11th consecutive World Cup finals with a cool victory.
The national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, crushed Iraq 2-0 in the ninth Group B match of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup at Basra International Stadium on the 6th (Korea time). Kim Jin-kyu's scoring shot in the 18th minute of the second half became the winning goal. Jeon Jin-woo (Jeonbuk Hyundai), who won his first national flag in his career, got excited by helping Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk) score an additional goal in the 36th minute of the second half. 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.
On the same day, Hong threw a game-winning move to exclude Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) from the list of participants 'Captain'. Son Heung-min, who played as a substitute in the Europa League final and lifted the trophy, noted that he was not in his best condition due to injury. With Oh Se-hoon (Machida Zelvia) at the forefront, Hong came up with a 4-2-3-1 formation to place Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) at the second line. Park Yong-woo (Al Ain) and Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) were placed in the midfield, and Lee Tae-seok (Pohang), Kwon Kyung-won (Korpakan), Cho Yoo-min (Sharja) and Seol Young-woo (Trvena Zvezda) were placed in the four-back position. Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan) defended the goal.
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| ◇photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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| ◇photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association |
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Hong Myung-bo entered the stadium in a one-sided atmosphere filled with 65,000 spectators. From the beginning of the game, home team Iraq took the lead with forward pressure and rough play. In the end, within two minutes, Iraq's Youssef Al-Amin received the first warning by kicking Hwang Hee-chan's left foot. In the 20th minute of the first half, the defensive space opened up momentarily, allowing Iraq to shoot.
An unexpected variable occurred. In the 23rd minute of the first half, Cho Yoo-min, competing for an aerial ball from the left side of the center circle, was hit in the face by Ali al-Hamadi's sole. The referee took out a yellow card, but after going through VAR, he took out a red card. It was the moment when Hong Myung-bo took the numerical advantage. Iraqi players flocked to protest, but the decision was not reversed.
Since then, the trend has started to lean toward Korea. Hwang In-beom, who received a return pass from Lee Jae-sung during a corner kick in the 31st minute of the first half, connected with a shot while Hwang Hee-chan, who was rushing a strong pass to the gate, but missed the opportunity to score the first goal as he went out next to the post. The set piece also fired in the 36th minute of the first half. Lee Jae-sung headed a curved cross from the left diagonal point of the Iraqi camp, but he hit the crossbar. In the 38th minute of the first half, Lee Tae-seok's left-footed shot, which received Lee Jae-sung's pass, fell into the goalkeeper's arms. In the 48th minute of the first half, Lee Kang-in's left-footed shot hit the crossbar again. In the end, the first half ended 0-0.
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| ◇Sportschosun DB |
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| ◇Sportschosun DB |
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At the beginning of the second half, Hong tried to make changes by excluding Park Yong-woo and putting in Kim Jin-kyu. South Korea continued to take the lead in the second half, putting pressure on Iraq. While Iraq, which was underdog in numbers, increased the number of defenses, Hong helped the attack in the 15th minute of the second half by excluding Hwang Hee-chan Oh Se-hoon and putting in Moon Sun-min (FC Seoul) Oh Hyun-kyu. South Korea left a regret in the 16th minute of the second half when Hwang In-beom's right-footed mid-range shot from the left side of the arc was blocked by the Iraqi goalkeeper.
In the end, the long-awaited first goal was scored. In the 18th minute of the second half, Seol Young-woo, who caught a long cross from the left side of the Iraqi camp, handed it over to Lee Kang-in on the right side of the penalty box, and South Korea took a 1-0 lead as Kim Jin-kyu finished the ball pushed by Lee Kang-in from the right side of the gate.
South Korea's aggression, which gained momentum, continued. In the 20th minute of the second half, Lee Jae-sung connected a cross from Seol Young-woo's right side with a header in front of the gate, but was blocked by the Iraqi goalkeeper's hand again.
With an urgent Iraq attempting to press forward again, South Korea did not miss the lead and sought an additional goal. Iraqi coach Graham Arnold used three replacement cards at once in the 28th minute of the second half. Coach Hong put in Jeon Jin-woo, who won the first national flag in his career, instead of Lee Jae-sung.
An additional goal was scored in the 36th minute of the second half. Hwang In-beom put a forward pass to Jeon Jin-woo, who was rushing into the back space following a turn that beat two defenders at once in the midfield, and Oh Hyun-kyu pushed a low cross from the right side with his right foot in front of the gate to widen the gap 2-0. Iraq, which has become more defeated, went aggressive, but South Korea did not lose its concentration until the 4th minute of extra time and maintained a two-goal lead, eventually ending the game with a complete victory. He also enjoyed the double slope of writing a clean sheet in six games in the third qualifying round.
Park Sang-kyung and Lee Hyun-suk reporter
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
