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South Korea

South Korea has announced its full 26-player squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It’s the twelfth time the country has qualified for the FIFA World Cup. The Taegeuk Warriors qualified for the eleventh time in a row. Their best performance was in 2002, when they came in fourth place on home soil.

Head coach and former player Hong Myung-bo announced the full squad earlier today. The absolute superstar of the team is Son Heung-Min. He is the team’s captain and the player with the most caps (142) for the country. Son is also aiming to become South Korea’s all-time top scorer, sitting just four goals behind the legendary Cha Bum-kun. Other key players in the squad are Kim Min-jae, Lee Jae-sung, Lee Kang-in, and Cho Gue-sung.

Full Squad South Korea For The 2026 FIFA World Cup

Goalkeepers: Cho Hyeon-woo (Ulsan HD FC), Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo), Song Bum-keun (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors)

Defenders: Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Cho Yu-min (Sharjah FC), Lee Han-beom (FC Midtjylland), Kim Tae-hyeon (Kashima Antlers), Park Jin-seob (Zhejiang FC), Lee Gi-hyuk (Gangwon FC), Lee Tae-seok (Austria Wien), Seol Young-woo (FK Crvena Zvezda), Jens Castrop (Borussia Monchengladbach), Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon Hana Citizen FC)

Midfielders: Yang Hyun-jun (Celtic FC), Paik Seung-ho (Birmingham City FC), Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), Kim Jin-gyu (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors), Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City FC), Eom Ji-sung (Swansea City), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Lee Dong-gyeong (Ulsan HD FC), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz 05), Lee Kang-in (PSG)

Forwards: Oh Hyeon-gyu (Besiktas), Son Heung-min (Los Angeles FC), Cho Gue-sung (FC Midtjylland)

Qualification For The 2026 FIFA World Cup

South Korea qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in a group with Jordan, Iraq, Oman, Palestine, and Kuwait. The South Koreans managed to collect 22 points in the group, six points more than second-place Jordan. South Korea remained undefeated in the qualifying campaign. In ten games, they won six and drew four.

On June 5, 2025, the group winners secured their spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup by defeating Iraq 2-0 in Basra. Kim Jin-gyu and Oh Hyeon-gyu scored the two goals for the South Koreans. With four goals apiece, Lee Jae-sung and Oh Hyeon-gyu finished the qualifying campaign as South Korea’s top scorers.

2026 FIFA World Cup

South Korea is part of Group A. The Taegeuk Warriors open their World Cup on June 11 in Guadalajara, Mexico, where they will take on Czechia. Seven days later, they take on hosts Mexico in the same stadium. For their final group stage match, they travel to Monterrey to take on South Africa on June 24. The two group winners and the eight best third-placed teams from each group will advance to the next stage.

South Korea Schedule

• June 11 – Czechia (10 pm EST)
• June 18 – Mexico (9 pm EST)
• June 24 – South Africa (9 pm EST)