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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Son Heung-min scored the first free kick goal and is sharing joy with Lee Jae-sung. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Cho Kyu-sung is happy to score his team's second goal in the second half. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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The result of Plan A's return to focus on 'victory' was a success.
The national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, won the friendly match against Bolivia. South Korea won 2-0 against Bolivia at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. In the 11th minute of the second half, Son Heung-min's artistic right-footed free-kick goal became the winning shot, and Cho Kyu-sung (Mit Willan) scored a net in the 42nd minute of the second half. South Korea continued its hope of entering Port 2 with a victory over Bolivia in the last two A matches ahead of the draw for the 2026 North-China World Cup finals.
Coach Hong Myung-bo, who experimented with a modified three-back in the East Asian Cup in July and the A-match in September and October, pulled out a 4-2-3-1 card that was 'Plan A' against Bolivia. Coach Hong Myung-bo set Son Heung-min (LAFC) as one-top and entrusted Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) to attack the left and right sides. Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai), and Won Doo-jae (Cor Pacan) were placed in the midfield, while Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Kim Tae-hyun (Kashima Antlers), Lee Myung-jae and Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon Hana Citizen) were placed in the four-back line. Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo) took over the goal.
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Coach Hong Myung-bo is waiting for the start of the game. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Lee Jae-sung, who achieved the record of 100 A matches, is receiving a commemorative uniform frame from his father. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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| The A-match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Hwang Hee-chan is trying to break through. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Lee Jae-sung is trying to shoot a header. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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At the beginning of the game, South Korea focused on finding gaps in Bolivia's defense by widely utilizing the left and right sides. From the side, he tried to create opportunities through the back space pass that led to one-top Son Heung-min. However, he expressed his disappointment in detail.
The first chance in the first half came from a set piece situation. In the 11th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min's high and long curved cross from the left side turned to the right of the gate and connected it with a diving header. South Korea's first opportunity to score was unfortunately canceled as the Bolivian goalkeeper reached inside the goal and managed to clear it in front of the goal line.
There was also a crisis. In the 15th minute of the first half, Bolivia's counterattack, which unfolded due to a pass miss by Won Doo-jae, allowed a breakthrough to the left side of the penalty area, leading to a cross and effective shot. Kim Seung-gyu's good defense prevented the loss.
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Son Heung-min is trying to break through. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Kim Jin-kyu is trying to break through. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Lee Kang-in is competing for the ball. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Lee Kang-in, who committed a foul, is being warned. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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The second chance was also a set piece. In the 25th minute of the first half, a pass connected to Son Heung-min, Lee Jae-sung and Son Heung-min was blocked by the Bolivian defense, but Lee Kang-in connected the loose ball with a powerful left-footed shot in front of the gate. However, again, the first goal was canceled due to the Bolivian goalkeeper's good defense. Bolivia's shot took advantage of Kim Tae-hyun's mistake in the subsequent Bolivian counterattack, but Kim Seung-gyu was able to sweep his chest while hugging him head-on.
Since then, South Korea has solved the attack clue on the left side. However, as we entered the end of the first half, we struggled with the build-up and began to take the lead toward Bolivia. Bolivia threatened South Korea's goal as Fernando Nava (Oriente Petrolero) tried to shoot effectively one after another, but failed to score as the shot went head-on. The first half ended with the two teams facing 0-0.
The second half started without a change of players. In the first minute of the second half, a Bolivian defense mistake created a chance for Son Heung-min to face the goalkeeper on the right side of the gate. However, Son Heung-min chose a pass to Hwang Hee-chan instead of a shot, followed by an offside decision.
Once again, set piece chance. In the 11th minute of the second half, Son Heung-min, who was a kicker of Hwang Hee-chan's free kick near the left side of the arc, was wrapped with his right foot and was sucked into the corner of the near post of the Bolivian goal, eventually scoring the first goal. 1-0.
In the 15th minute of the second half, head coach Hong tried to change by putting in Bae Joon-ho (Stoke City) without Lee Jae-sung. Lee Jae-sung, who joined the Century Club (playing 100 A matches), left the ground amid standing ovations from the crowd.
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Son Heung-min is scoring the first free kick goal. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Son Heung-min scored the first free kick goal and is sharing his joy. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. As Lee Jae-sung is replaced, head coach Hong Myung-bo is being encouraged. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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Coach Hong focused on additional goals along with experiments using replacement Bae Joon-ho as a central attacking midfielder. After scoring the first goal, the pressure began to pick up, and as Bolivia's miss continued, the atmosphere tilted toward Korea. In the 25th minute of the second half, Nava was allowed a left-footed shot chance from the left side of the arc due to a defensive mistake, but Kim Seung-gyu's good defense prevented the loss.
The experiment continued. In the 30th minute of the second half, Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan, and Lee Myung-jae were out, and Cho Kyu-sung (Mit Willan), Um Ji-sung (Swansea City), and Lee Tae-seok (Austria Vienna) took the ground.
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Cho Kyu-sung is making a high five with Hwang Hee-chan as a substitute in the second half. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Cho Kyu-sung is scoring his team's second goal in the second half. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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| A match warm-up match between South Korea and Bolivia held at Daejeon World Cup Stadium on the 14th. Cho Kyu-sung is happy to score his team's second goal in the second half. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.11.14/ |
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At the end of the second half, South Korea maintained its lead and entered the closing stages in a stable defense. Coach Hong tried to change again in the 40th minute of the second half when Kim Jin-kyu and Lee Kang-in were left out and Jens Kastrov (Mönchengladbach) and Yang Min-hyuk (Portsmouth) were put in. In the 42nd minute of the second half, South Korea finished the game with a two-goal victory, shaking off the mark and scoring a goal, receiving a low cross from Kim Moon-hwan from the right side with his back to the defender in front of the gate.
South Korea, which won the match against Bolivia, will move to Seoul and play a friendly match against Ghana at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 18th.
Daejeon = Reporter Park Sang-kyung, Yoon Jin-man, Kim Autumn
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
