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| A warm-up match between the South Korean national soccer team and Paraguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Oh Hyun-kyu scored his team's second goal in the second half and is cheering with Lee Kang-in. Sangam = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.10.14/ |
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| A warm-up match between the South Korean national soccer team and Paraguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Oh Hyun-kyu is cheering after scoring his team's second goal in the second half. Sangam = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.10.14/ |
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South Korea succeeded in turning the mood around by catching Paraguay.
South Korea's national soccer team A won 2-0 against Paraguay at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Um Ji-sung in the 15th minute of the first half and Oh Hyun-kyu in the 29th minute of the second half cheered. As a result, Korea has increased the possibility of 'Port2'. The 2026 North-China World Cup will divide 48 countries into four ports (12 countries each) and allocate one team per port to the same group through a lottery. Excluding the three host countries, the FIFA rankings are divided into Port 1 for the first to ninth place and Port 2 for the 10th to 23rd places. Korea's current ranking is 23rd, hanging at the end of Port 2. It is fiercely competing with Ecuador, ranked 24th, and Australia, ranked 25th. The port will be allocated based on the FIFA rankings in November, which will be announced to reflect the results of the two A matches next month.
In terms of objective power, Korea is ahead. South Korea is 23rd in the FIFA rankings. It is higher than Paraguay (37th). However, it is a team that cannot be ignored. In the 2026 North American World Cup South American qualifying round, he showed his power to catch strong teams such as Argentina (2-1 wins) and Brazil (1-0 wins). Above all, he bullied his opponent with his 'salty water defense'. Paraguay has allowed just 10 runs in 18 South American qualifying matches. He showed the same level of defense as Ecuador (2nd place, 5 goals) and Argentina (1st place, 10 goals).
South Korean coach Hong Myung-bo has launched an unprecedented experiment. Compared to the friendly match against Brazil on the 10th, eight starting players have been changed. Except for Son Heung-min (LAFC), Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord Rotterdam), and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), all faces have changed.
South Korea used a 3-4-2-1 tactic. Son Heung-min stepped up as the front-line striker. Um Ji-sung (Swanji City) and Lee Dong-kyung (Kim Cheon, managing director) were located on the left and right wings. Lee Myung-jae (Daejeon Hana Citizen), Hwang In-beom Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai), and Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon) stepped up in the midfield. Kim Min-jae, Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk) and Lee Han-beom (Mit Willan) were in charge of defense. Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo) defended the goal.
Paraguay was a 4-2-3-1 tactic. Ronald Martinez led the attack. Miguel Almiron, Diego Gomes and Ugo Koenka helped in the second line. Brian Oheda and Damian Bobadiya were the defensive midfielders. The Four Bags were located by Junior Alonso, Omar Alderette, Gustavo Gomes, and Alan Benitez. The goalkeeper's gloves were worn by Orlando Hill.
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| A warm-up match between the national soccer team and Paraguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Before the game, a ceremony was held to commemorate Son Heung-min's most appearances in A matches (137 games). Congratulations to Son Heung-min, Red Devils' cheering squad leader, chairman Chung Mong-gyu, and coach Cha Bum-keun. Sangam = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.10.14/ |
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| A warm-up match between the South Korean national soccer team and Paraguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th. When Um Ji-sung scored the first goal, Son Heung-min brings the players together to talk. Sangam = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.10.14/ |
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| A warm-up match between the national soccer team and Paraguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Um Ji-sung of the national team scored the first goal in the first half. a roaring thumbs-up. Sangam = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.10.14/ |
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South Korea shook its opponent with a surprise attack at the start of the game. But soon a dizzying scene emerged. Lee Han-beom's judgment was late in the process of preventing the opponent's counterattack. Kim Seung-gyu came out quickly and kicked the ball, but it hit Gomes' body and rather flowed toward the Korean net. Fortunately, Kim Seung-gyu rushed in and blocked it.
After overcoming the crisis, South Korea scored the first goal in the 15th minute of the first half. Hwang In-beom passed through two opposing defenses and passed the pass to Lee Myung-jae. Lee Myung-jae saw Um Ji-sung on the other side and crossed a long cross. Paraguay's Alonso's clearance rather turned into a pass to Um Ji-sung. Um Ji-sung, who was in front of the opponent's goal, did not miss the opportunity and completed it with a right-footed shot. Um Ji-sung tasted a thrilling scoring shot in his A-match debut. It has been three years and nine months since the friendly against Iceland on January 15, 2022.
A tense flow continued in the midfield. Paraguay, who was in a hurry, also made a dangerous scene with a tough challenge. In the 38th minute of the first half, Alderette pushed Son Heung-min hard from behind and knocked him down. The referee gave a verbal warning. In the 41st minute of the first half, Alonso pushed Kim Moon-hwan away.
South Korea faced a dizzying situation in the 43rd minute of the first half. Almiron took Lee Han-beom's ball and launched a counterattack. Martinez, who was following, took over the ball and tried to shoot. However, Kim Seung-gyu prevented the loss with a super save in a 1-1 situation. Kim Seung-gyu defended Korea's back door with good defense even in the ensuing set piece situation. South Korea ended the first half with a 1-0 lead.
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| A warm-up match between the South Korean national soccer team and Paraguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Um Ji-sung is replaced and is being encouraged by head coach Hong Myung-bo. Sangam = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.10.14/ |
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| A warm-up match between the national soccer team and Paraguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Lee Kang-in is trying to break through. Sangam = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.10.14/ |
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At the beginning of the second half, both teams took out replacement cards side by side. South Korea's Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Cho Yoo-min (Sharja) took the ground instead of Son Heung-min and Lee Han-beom. Paraguay put Matthias Galarsa out of Bobadilla.
Injuries occurred in the 6th minute of the second half. Paraguay's Gomes held his thigh and sent a replacement. Eventually, he was replaced by Alejandro Romero and retired to the bench. South Korea took advantage of the clutter to launch an attack. Um Ji-sung shot Cho Yoo-min and Kim Jin-kyu's pass. However, he swallowed his disappointment by heading straight to the opponent's goalkeeper. South Korea continued to shake the opponent with back-to-back mid-range shots by Oh Hyun-kyu and Hwang In-beom.
Paraguay once again used the replacement card. Quenka and Ronaldo Martinez were excluded and made changes to Antonio Sanabri and Diego González. South Korea also had an injury variable. In the 19th minute of the second half, Um Ji-sung raised his hand toward the bench and sank to the ground. Korea excluded Um Ji-sung and Hwang In-beom, and put Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) and Won Doo-jae (Corpacan Club).
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| A warm-up match between the national soccer team and Paraguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Oh Hyun-kyu, who scored his team's second goal in the second half and is happy with Lee Kang-in. Sangam = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.10.14/ |
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| A warm-up match between the national soccer team and Paraguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Kim Min-jae wearing the captain's armband in the second half. Sangam = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.10.14/ |
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South Korea was shaken by allowing three shots in two minutes from the 25th minute of the second half. He allowed shots in succession in a free kick situation. González's free kick bounced off the Korean goal post, and Sanabria grabbed the rebounding ball and connected it with a sliding header. Fortunately, it missed Korea's goalpost. Paraguay also had Almiron's shot, but this time it split into the air.
After overcoming the crisis, South Korea scored an additional goal in the 29th minute of the second half. It was Oh Hyun-kyu. Lee Kang-in received Kim Jin-kyu's throw-in. Lee Kang-in created space over two opposing defenders. Oh ran towards the opponent's goal with his fast feet and slightly pushed it with his left foot to complete the score. Oh Hyun-kyu opened the scoring once again after two games against Mexico on Sept. 10.
Paraguay put Angel Romero and Diego Leon in place of Almiron and Alderette to fight back. But I couldn't break the once tilted chu. Korea finished the replacement card by putting Lee Tae-seok (Bin) instead of Lee Myung-jae. Paraguay sought to score, but South Korea's background was stronger. South Korea showed its concentration and ended the victory.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
