South Korea lost 2-1 to Northern Ireland in international friendly football match here on Saturday. Northern Ireland's second half substitute Paul Smyth scored the late winner at Windsor Park in Belfast to defeat South Korea. It was South Korea's first loss this year. The match was one of the two friendly matches before South Korea announce their final roster for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in May. The men's national team will face Poland on Tuesday.South Korea, led by head coach Shin Tae-yong, are

DUBLIN -- South Korean men's national football team head coach Shin Tae-yong said Thursday he is still mulling over his options for Tottenham Hotspur attacker Son Heung-min in the upcoming friendly matches.South Korea will take on Northern Ireland in Belfast on Saturday before they visit Poland on Tuesday. The two friendly matches are likely to be South Korea's last test before they announce the final roster for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Shin said he has yet to decide whether he should

South Korea unveiled Thursday their 2018 FIFA World Cup kit for the tourney in Russia.South Korea's World Cup kit is inspired by the national flag Taegeukgi and "hallyu," which refers to the Korean Wave of popular culture, according to Nike, the US-based global sportswear brand that designed the uniform. Newly-designed outfits will be worn by all age groups of the men's and the women's national football teams. Nike said South Korea's home jersey features a classic look composed of a red shirt, b

DUBLIN -- Red Bull Salzburg's South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan said Tuesday in Dublin that he will try to utilize his experience with the Austrian club to help the men's national football team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.Hwang has scored 11 goals in 29 matches this season for Salzburg. Although he suffered a thigh injury in the middle of the season, his aggressive play on the pitch has helped Salzburg stay atop the league and reach the UEFA Europe League quarterfinals. "I learned lots of thing

South Korea's national football team is set to train with a full squad in Dublin for European friendly matches later this month, as overseas-based players joined the team for their international duty. South Korea, led by head coach Shin Tae-yong, called up 23 players for their friendly matches against Northern Ireland and Poland later this month on the road. Shin's side, 59th in the latest FIFA rankings, will take on No. 24 Northern Ireland at Windsor Park in Belfast on Saturday and face No. 6 P

INCHEON -- South Korea football coach Shin Tae-yong said Monday he plans to use in-form Tottenham Hotspur attacker Son Heung-min in a two striker system but will try to have various attacking options at the FIFA World Cup.Son is one of the 23 players that were selected for South Korea's upcoming World Cup tune-up matches in Europe. South Korea, ranked 59th in the latest FIFA rankings, will take on No. 24 Northern Ireland at Windsor Park in Belfast on Saturday and face No. 6 Poland three days lat

When South Korea play their two pre-World Cup football friendlies later this month, chances are the entire defensive corps will be made up of players from the same club in at least one of the two matches.National team head coach Shin Tae-yong on Monday announced his 23-man roster for matches against Northern Ireland and Poland. He picked eight defenders, and five of them are from Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in K League 1: Hong Jeong-ho, Kim Min-jae, Kim Jin-su, Choi Chul-soon and Lee Yong. They have

Red-hot Tottenham forward Son Heung-min will lead South Korea at two pre-World Cup friendly matches set for later this month in Europe.Son was among 23 players named to head coach Shin Tae-yong's squad on Monday. South Korea, ranked 58th in the world, will face 26th-ranked Northern Ireland in Belfast on March 24, and then take on world No. 7 Poland in Chorzow four days later.These matches will be good litmus tests for South Korea before they face Germany, Mexico and Sweden at the FIFA World Cup

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean attacker Son Heung-min has scored his 16th goal of the season at the top European club football tournament, though his English club fell to the Italian opponents.Son scored his team's only goal in Spurs' 2-1 loss to Juventus in the second leg of their round of 16 match at the UEFA Champions League at Wembley Stadium in London on Wednesday (local time). This was Son's fourth Champions League goal and his 16th of the 2017-18 season. He has 10 goals in the English P

INCHEON -- South Korea men's national football team head coach Shin Tae-yong said Tuesday he believes there is a possibility that his side can reach the round of 16 at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.Shin returned home after inspecting Europe-based players and South Korea's World Cup training base in St. Petersburg, Russia, since Feb. 24. The 48-year-old coach said if South Korea can have good preparations, reaching the knockout stage at the upcoming World Cup is possible.At the World Cup in Russia, Sou

Ko Jong-soo, new head coach for the South Korean second division football club Daejeon Citizen, said Tuesday he is ready to transform the club by boosting the confidence of his players.Ko, 39, was one of the top South Korean football stars in the late 1990s. Nicknamed "Enfant Terrible," for his bold and audacious style of play on the pitch, along with his trademark left-footed free kicks, he was voted the MVP of the league in 1998 while playing for Suwon Samsung Bluewings.  Twenty years after hi

South Korea blanked Latvia 1-0 in a friendly football match in Turkey on Saturday, wrapping up their pre-World Cup camp with two wins and a draw.Forward Kim Shin-wook scored the eventual winner in the 33rd minute, his seventh goal in six games, as 59th-ranked South Korea defeated No. 131 Latvia at Mardan Stadium in Antalya in a game that was more lopsided than the score.South Korea earlier beat Moldova 1-0 and had a 2-2 draw against Jamaica.Kim extended his scoring streak to four matches. He net

The South Korean men's national football team opened the new year with a victory over Moldova on Saturday.South Korea, 59th in the latest FIFA rankings, collected a 1-0 win against world No. 166 Moldova in a friendly match at Mardan Stadium in Antalya, Turkey, thanks to Kim Shin-wook's second half goal.The game was South Korea's first of three friendlies scheduled in Antalya, Turkey, where their pre-World Cup training camp is located. The Taeguk Warriors, led by head coach Shin Tae-yong, will ne

South Korea started the new year as the world's 59th placed football team in the FIFA rankings. According to the January men's rankings table released by FIFA on Thursday, South Korea moved up one spot to No. 59 with 569 points. South Korea were the world's 37th-ranked team one year ago. The Taeguk Warriors, having qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, had the fourth highest position among Asian Football Confederation (AFC) members. Iran fell two spots to No. 34, but remained the top-ranked Asi

South Korean attacker Son Heung-min has bagged one goal and one assist in his latest performance for Tottenham Hotspur. Son scored the opening goal in the Spurs' 4-0 win over Everton in their English Premier League match at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday. This was Son's eighth Premier League goal and his 11th total in the 2017-18 season. He also has three goals in the UEFA Champions League. The goal against Everton also made Son only the second player to score in five consecutive home Pre