South Korea must improve cohesion on their defense if they were to qualify for their ninth consecutive FIFA World Cup, their head coach said Monday.Shin Tae-yong announced the 26-man roster for the two remaining Asian qualifying matches for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.South Korea will host Iran in Seoul on Aug. 31 and travel to Tashkent to face Uzbekistan on Sept. 5.And given South Korea's showing so far, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out South Korea's defense needs some fin

South Korea men's football head coach Shin Tae-yong on Monday justified his selection of a few aging players for upcoming World Cup qualifiers, saying they're not just token veterans getting free rides.Shin unveiled his 26-man roster for the final two Asian World Cup qualifying matches. South Korea will host Iran on Aug. 31 in Seoul and will face Uzbekistan in Tashkent on Sept. 5.South Korea's streak of eight consecutive World Cup appearances will be at stake in those two contests, as they are b

South Korea will pin their World Cup qualifying hopes on an English Premier League star who just returned from a serious arm injury.Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min was among 26 players named to the men's national team on Monday for the two remaining qualifying matches for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. South Korea will host Iran in Seoul on Aug. 31 and travel to Tashkent to face Uzbekistan on Sept. 5.These will be the first official matches for head coach Shin Tae-yong, who replaced Uli St

South Korean winger Son Heung-min has made his Premier League season debut with Tottenham Hotspur after recovering from an arm fracture, much to the relief of the national team brass ahead of key World Cup qualifiers.Son came off the bench to replace Moussa Sissoko in the second half of the away match against Newcastle United on Sunday. Son didn't score in the Spurs' 2-0 victory, while playing with a compression bandage on his right arm.Son fractured the right forearm in a fall during a World Cu

The head coach of the struggling football club Gangwon FC resigned from his post Monday.Choi Yun-kyum made the decision following Gangwon's 2-0 loss to Jeju United in the top-flight K League Classic on Sunday, the club said.Gangwon FC have lost four of their last five matches, slipping from third to sixth in the 12-team league.With 37 points on 10 wins, nine losses and seven draws with 12 matches remaining, Gangwon FC are nine points back of Suwon Samsung Bluewings in third place, the last quali

Host South Korea and Tunisia played to a draw to open an international men's handball competition in Seoul on Sunday.The teams ended up deadlocked at 28-28 in the first match of the 12th Seoul Cup Handball at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in the nation's capital.Iran is the other nation in the tournament. Tunisia and Iran will square off Monday at the same venue. The finale on Tuesday will pit South Korea against Iran. The top team after the round-robin play will be declared the champion.South K

Los Angeles Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-jin has taken a no-decision after throwing his worst outing in two months.The South Korean left-hander allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings against the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday (local time). He left the game with the Dodgers trailing 3-1 through five, but they rallied to beat the Padres 6-3.Ryu walked two and struck out five in his seventh no-decision in 17 starts. Ryu remained at 4-6, while his ERA went up from 3.53

Former German Olympic bobsleigh champion Andre Lange was named a coach for the South Korean national luge team Sunday.The Korea Luge Federation said Lange, 44, will join the team in October in preparations for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics at home.Lange is one of the most decorated bobsleigh pilots in history, having won four gold and one silver medals at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics. In this EPA file photo taken on Feb. 21, 2010, Andre Lange of Germany celebrates after winning

GOYANG (Yonhap) -- Former South Korean national figure skating champion Lee June-hyoung said Saturday he's trying to maintain a positive attitude ahead of the final Olympic qualifying event next month.Lee, a three-time South Korean champion, won the men's singles title at the Figure Skating Korea Challenge last month in Seoul and earned the right to compete at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany in September. It's the last Olympic qualifying competition, where six tickets to PyeongChang will be up f

South Korea will host an international men's handball competition in Seoul starting this weekend, with Tunisia and Iran also in action.The 12th Seoul Cup Handball will begin Sunday at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in the nation's capital with a match between South Korea and Tunisia.Tunisia and Iran will square off Monday at the same venue. The finale Tuesday will pit South Korea against Iran. The top team after the round-robin play will be declared the champion.All games will start at 4 p.m.The

The 2017 French Open women's singles champion Jelena Ostapenko will compete in a Women's Tennis Association tournament in Seoul this fall, the event's organizers said Friday.Ostapenko, the world No. 12 from Latvia, will headline the field at the KEB HanaBank•Incheon Airport Korea Open, which will open at Olympic Park in Seoul on Sept. 18.Ostapenko defeated Simona Halep in the French Open final to win her first Grand Slam title and also her first WTA win. The unheralded 20-year-old had ranked jus

Xavier Scruggs hit a walk-off two-run home run in the ninth inning of Thursday’s Korean Baseball Organization game between the Lotte Giants and NC Dinos to give NC a come from behind 3-2 victory. NC Dinos first baseman Xavier Scruggs celebrates after a hit on August 9, 2017. (Yonhap)Lotte entered the bottom of the ninth inning with a 2-1 lead, and with closer Son Seung-rak entering the game, they looked to be in a good position to win their sixth straight game. Son had converted 24 of 28 save op

Having embarked on South Korean baseball's first retirement tour, Samsung Lions slugger Lee Seung-yuop just wants to keep a low profile.Modest to a fault, the career home run leader in the Korea Baseball Organization, who will retire this year after 15 seasons here, says he doesn't want to get in the way of his teammates or his opponents -- literally and figuratively.Nine other KBO clubs have planned ceremonies for Lee's final visits to their ballparks. The Hanwha Eagles, based in Daejeon, some

An international football tournament for players aged under 16 will kick off this weekend on South Korea's Jeju Island with 16 teams, officials said Friday.The 2017 Jeju International Youth Football Tournament will start Saturday and will be staged at four football stadiums in Seogwipo, featuring European clubs like Galatasaray, Newcastle United, Schalke04 and Sporting CP. Three Japanese clubs -- Kashima Antlers, Yokohama Marinos, and Cerezo Osaka -- and Chinese outfit Yanbian Fude will also joi