South Korea
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South Korea
One miracle wasn't enough. They came back for more.
FIFA #48KOR
How they play
Set pieces and grit.
World ranking
#25
Confederation
AFC · Asia
How they play
Set pieces and grit.
Signature moment
Qatar 2022, stoppage time, South Korea vs Portugal. They needed to win and score enough goals to go through, and it was basically not happening — until it suddenly, impossibly was. Hwang Hee-chan latched onto a Son Heung-min assist in the 91st minute, scored, and the entire country lost its mind simultaneously. Uruguay were knocked out at the exact same moment across the other side of the bracket. It was the kind of ending you'd reject from a movie script for being too unrealistic. South Korea did it in real life.
The ones to watch
- Son Heung-minFWDThe captain, the icon, the guy even people who hate football have heard of — Son is the emotional heartbeat of this entire team and somehow keeps delivering in the biggest moments.
- Kim Min-jaeDEFBuilt like a skyscraper and plays like one too — he's become one of the most dominant centre-backs on the planet and is basically the reason South Korea don't concede four goals a game.
- Lee Kang-inMIDThe creative spark who plays with a swagger that makes you think he hasn't quite registered how high the stakes are, which is honestly exactly what this team needs.
- Hwang Hee-chanFWDThe guy who scored THAT goal against Portugal in 2022 to send South Korea through in stoppage time — he is legally required to be on this list.
- Cho Gue-sungFWDBecame a viral sensation at the last World Cup practically overnight and has the kind of big-game hunger that makes chaos football actually work.
One email the morning of their opener. Nothing else.
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