Group A fixtures
Fri 12 Jun03:00 BST
Estadio Akron, Guadalajara
Fri 19 Jun02:00 BST
Estadio Akron, Guadalajara
Thu 25 Jun02:00 BST
Estadio BBVA, Monterrey
Key players to watch
Son Heung-min
FW · LAFC · C · 33
Captain, talisman, free-kick master. 4th World Cup. Four goals short of Cha Bum-kun's all-time Korea record. Record $26.5m MLS move in Aug 2025.
~143 caps · 54 goals · 127 PL goals
Kim Min-jae
CB · Bayern Munich
Elite centre-back; ex-Serie A Best Defender at Napoli. The defensive leader Korea's structure depends on.
75 caps · Bundesliga / Serie A winner
Lee Kang-in
AM · PSG
The most technically gifted player in the squad — close control and directness in the final third. Shares dead-ball duty with Son.
Creator-in-chief
Hwang Hee-chan
FW · Wolves · 30
Premier League pace and a knack for big moments — his stoppage-time winner v Portugal sent Korea to the last 16 in 2022. Alternate penalty option.
2022 R16 hero
Hwang In-beom
MF · Feyenoord
Tempo-setter who dictates from deep; ties the European-based midfield together.
Midfield metronome
Kim Seung-gyu
GK · 35
Expected first choice in goal, with veteran Jo Hyeon-woo (38, a third World Cup) in reserve.
Experienced No.1
Goals & output
Son drives the numbers — a sharp start to MLS life at LAFC (double-digit goal involvements in his opening months) on top of his Korea tally. Lee Kang-in and Hwang Hee-chan add secondary threat. This is the deepest attacking unit Korea has fielded since 2002.
Set-piece duties
Free kicks
Son / Lee Kang-in
Son is the primary penalty and free-kick taker and a real dead-ball weapon — a curling free kick v Bolivia (Nov 2025) and the 2025 MLS Goal of the Year for LAFC. He occasionally hands penalties to Hwang Hee-chan. Lee Kang-in shares free kicks and corners. High set-piece value in this group.
Discipline read
▲No reputation as a dirty side; bookings tend to come from chasing games when the press is bypassed. The structural risk is conceding rather than cards — Hong's task is defensive organisation, not curbing aggression.
Recent form
Unbeaten through AFC qualifying (6 wins, 4 draws, 22 points). Reached the last 16 at Qatar 2022 with that famous late win over Portugal. Coach Hong has publicly framed reaching the Round of 32 as the baseline target; the talent suggests more is possible if they stay solid.
Head-to-head history
v Czechia (12 Jun)
3 meetings: 1-1-1 (Czech outscore 8-4)
Never met at a World Cup; all friendlies, with the Czechs winning the goal aggregate. A genuine coin-flip opener that may decide who chases Mexico for second.
v Mexico (19 Jun)
Series: lost both WC meetings
Mexico won the 1998 and 2018 World Cup encounters and lead the overall series. Korea will fancy the upset given their stronger modern core.
v South Africa (25 Jun)
Very limited H2H
Scarce competitive history. Potentially a must-win finale in Monterrey — Korea would be favoured.
Underdog & betting read
The verdict
The group's dark horse and arguably better value than the odds for second place. Son's quality plus European-based depth can beat anyone here; the catch is a leaky defensive structure that good movement can exploit. Lean into their attack — over-goals and Son goal/assist involvement markets fit; trust them less to keep clean sheets.