The South Korean national soccer team has booked its place in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North American Football Confederations Cup after a convincing win over Singapore.
Under interim head coach Kim Do-hoon, South Korea (23rd in the FIFA rankings) cruised to a 7-0 victory over underdog Singapore (155th), led by a goal-and-assist hat trick (three assists) from breakout striker Lee Min-kyu (34th, Ulsan) and a two-goal performance from “captain” Son Heung-min (Tottenham) in the fifth match of Group C of the North American World Cup Asia Second Qualifying Round at the Singapore National Stadium on Saturday (June 6).
The 18 teams that finished first and second in each of the nine Groups A through I in the second round of qualifying will advance to the final round. With three additional points, Group C leaders South Korea (4W, 1D, 13 points) are assured of qualifying regardless of the outcome of their Game 6 home match against China. South Korea also maintained their dominance in the all-time series against Singapore with 23 wins, three draws, and two losses.
South Korea took control of the game from the start and piled on the offense, with Lee Kang-in opening the scoring in the ninth minute. After receiving a pass from Lee Min-kyu, Lee rattled the net with a powerful right-footed shot from the left side of the penalty box. Eleven minutes later, Lee added another goal. Starting as a frontline striker, Kim In-gyu rose high to a cross from the left flank by Kim Jin-soo and connected with a sharp header. It was the 34-year-old’s A-match debut goal.
The 2021 and 2023 K League 1 top scorer has never been associated with Taekwondo, but he was called up to the national team for the first time in March. In just his third A-match appearance, he scored an emotional debut goal. With momentum on his side, he set up Son Heung-min’s goal in the eighth minute and Lee Kang-in’s goal in the ninth minute to complete an assist hat trick. South Korea continued to attack up a storm. Son Heung-min scored in the 11th minute of the second half, Bae Junho (Stoke City) in the 34th minute, and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) in the 36th minute.
The rookies also shined. There were seven new faces in the 23-man squad. Bae Junho was the most impressive of the ‘new faces’ with a goal on his 바카라사이트 debut. It was the kind of performance you’d expect from a ‘top prospect’ who scored two goals and provided six assists in 38 appearances for Stoke City in the English Championship (2nd Division) last season.
Kim Do-hoon-ho will immediately return home to prepare for the sixth game against China on Nov. 11 at Seoul World Cup Stadium. The number of participating nations will increase from 32 to 48 at the North American Championship. The number of World Cup qualifying spots allocated to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has also increased from 4.5 to 8.5. Asian powerhouse South Korea has a good chance of qualifying for the World Cup.
However, after a string of recent international upsets and the noise created by the Korean Football Association, South Korean soccer is in need of a turnaround, and fans will be hoping for a second straight win against China. Since Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany) stepped down as head coach in February, the national team has been playing under an acting head coach. The Korean Football Association, which played its A-Match in April under interim coach Hwang Sun-hong, had hoped to appoint a permanent coach before the Singapore match. However, they were unable to find a suitable candidate, and Kim Do-hoon is once again in charge of the national team on an interim basis.