Defending champions Ulsan Hyundai FC have qualified for the knockout stage at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, moving forward in their bid for a second consecutive title at the continent's top club football tournament. The South Korean club defeated Viettel 3-0 at Pathum Thani Stadium in Bangkok on Thursday (local time) for their fifth consecutive victory in Group F. Sitting at 15 points with one match remaining against BG Pathum United on Sunday, Ulsan have assured them

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have become the first South Korean team to secure a knockout spot at the top continental club football tournament. Jeonbuk defeated Chiangrai United 3-1 in their Group H match at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League at Lokomotiv Stadium in Tashkent on Wednesday (local time). Jeonbuk improved to 13 points on four wins and a draw to secure the top spot in the group with one match remaining against Gamba Osaka on Saturday. The AFC Champions League expand

An upcoming professional football match has been postponed after a player tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The Korea Professional Football League announced Wednesday the K League 1 contest between Jeju United and FC Seoul, scheduled for July 20, will be played at a later date. The league has not yet determined when the match will be made up. One Jeju player tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. While the rest of the team all tested negative, many players were listed as close conta

PAJU -- When the 24-year-old midfielder Kim Jin-gyu didn't make the South Korean men's Olympic football team at first last week, he had a mixed bag of emotions. He was disappointed that he wasn't selected as one of 18 players by head coach Kim Hak-bum last Wednesday, but he was also somewhat relieved that he wouldn't be going through the pressure cooker that is the Olympic tournament. But Kim's fate changed in less than 24 hours. FIFA decided to grant a special expansion of rosters for all men

On South Korea's 22-man Olympic football roster headed to Tokyo this month, Kwon Chang-hoon is the only player with prior Summer Games experience. And it wasn't a particularly memorable one, as South Korea got knocked out of the quarterfinals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Kwon did more than his part, notching three goals and one assist in four matches, but it wasn't enough to send South Korea deeper into the tournament. Now 27, Kwon is back in the Olympic mix, this time as one of three

All knockout matches at Asia's top club football tournament this year will be played over one leg in centralized venues, the sport's continental governing body announced Monday, citing the need to minimize traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said it has rescheduled knockout matches at its signature club tournament, AFC Champions League, from the home-and-away format to single-leg ties. The round of 16 matches were already set to be one-and-done affair

Having been paired with four Middle Eastern nations in the final World Cup qualifying round, South Korea will likely have to deal with some frustrating time-wasting antics. In Group A of the final Asian qualification stage for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, South Korea will take on Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Syria and Lebanon. Those countries are particularly famous for resorting to moves to kill the clock if they have a lead, including feigning injuries and taking their time before

DAEJEON  -- Special limited medals produced to celebrate the distinguished career of Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min went on sale Monday, according to the state-run minting agency. Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corp. (KOMSCO) said the medals themed on the 28-year-old striker for Tottenham Hotspur in two designs -- coin and paper money -- are available for purchase on the company's website. KOMSCO said it produced 7,700 units, in reference to S

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min wasn't selected for his country's Olympic football team despite getting permission from his English Premier League club, an informed source said Thursday. Son, 28, was not picked as an overage player for South Korea's under-24 football team for the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday. The Olympic football tournament is typically reserved for players under 23, and the age limit has been raised to 24 for Tokyo because the competition was postponed by o

French league striker Hwang Ui-jo will lead South Korea's attack in their bid for an Olympic men's football medal in Japan this summer. Hwang was one of 18 players named to the South Korean men's Olympic team Wednesday. Head coach Kim Hak-bum unveiled two goalkeepers, six defenders, five midfielders and five forwards at a press conference in Seoul. The Olympic men's football tournament is typically open to players 23 and younger, but the age limit for the Tokyo Games has been raised to 24 beca

With a goal in each half, South Korea beat Ghana 2-1 on Tuesday in a crucial men‘s football prep match for the Tokyo Olympics. SC Freiburg midfielder Jeong Woo-yeong opened the scoring for the hosts in the 41st minute at Jeju World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo, Jeju Island, with second-half substitute Lee Dong-jun netting the go-ahead goal in the 65th. South Korea won the first game over Ghana 3-1 last Saturday. This was the last match before head coach Kim Hak-bum finalizes his 18-man rost

And there will be 18. That's the size of the South Korean men's football roster for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Head coach Kim Hak-bum will get a couple of opportunities to test Olympic hopefuls starting Saturday, when the first of two tuneup matches against Ghana will be played in Jeju Island. The kickoff is 7 p.m. at Jeju World Cup Stadium in the city of Seogwipo. Kim called up 28 players for his training camp: three goalkeepers, 10 defenders, eight midfielders and seven forwards. While th

Forward Kim Shin-wook had a brace and teen sensation Jeong Sang-bin scored in his international debut, helping South Korea beat up on Sri Lanka 5-0 in a World Cup qualifying match at home on Wednesday. Hwang Hee-chan and Lee Dong-gyeong had a goal apiece against 10-man Sri Lanka at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, as South Korea remained atop Group H in the second round of the Asian qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. South Korea improved to 13 points from four wins and

As attested by a convincing 5-0 victory over Turkmenistan over the weekend, there's clearly very little, if anything, wrong with South Korea in the ongoing World Cup qualifying campaign. On the eve of the next qualifier against Sri Lanka at home, South Korea head coach Paulo Bento said Tuesday he isn't about to fix anything that isn't broken. "We have not changed our style of play so far, and there's no reason why we should at this moment," Bento said in an online prematch press conf

In preparing for two remaining matches in the second round of the Asian qualifying for the next World Cup, South Korean defensive back Kim Min-jae said Monday he wanted to string together two more clean sheets. He may well have been speaking for the rest of his team, with South Korea set to face the heavy underdogs Sri Lanka on Wednesday. It will be the second of three qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be staged at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul. The kickoff is 8 p.m