South Korea Announces its 2026 World Cup Squad | OneFootball

Always a protagonist in World Cup history, the South Korean national team became the first squad in Group A to officially unveil its final roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Their tournament debut is set for June 11 at Estadio Guadalajara, where they will face Czechia.

Led by Son Heung-min (LAFC), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and Lee Kang-in (PSG), the Taeguk Warriors will look to become the Asian nation that goes furthest in the tournament.

The squad is largely made up of players from the domestic league, although eight of the 26 players currently compete in some of the top leagues in the world.

In addition to Son — who will be playing in his fourth World Cup and serves as the unquestioned leader of the squad — the Asian side also features Lee Kang-in, who played 38 matches this season for PSG, scoring four goals and providing five assists.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich center back Kim Min-jae, one of the anchors of the defense, appeared in 37 matches and scored once, giving South Korea a very solid spine heading into the tournament.

South Korea was drawn into Group A alongside Mexico, South Africa, and Czech Republic. Hong Myung-bo’s side opens its campaign against the Czechs on June 11 knowing full well it is a must-win game if they want to avoid unnecessary drama. Seven days later (on June 18) they face host nation Mexico in what already looks like one of the toughest and most evenly matched games of the group stage.

The national soccer teams of Mexico and South Korea have faced each other 15 times, with a favorable record for the Mexican side. The overall history shows 8 wins for Mexico, 3 draws, and 4 victories for South Korea.

World Cup Meetings

Group A is shaping up to be one of the most balanced sections of the entire tournament. The Asian Tigers will close out the group stage against what, at least on paper, appears to be the weakest team in the group: South Africa.

That match will take place on June 24 at Monterrey Stadium.

South Korea heads into the 2026 World Cup in Mexico, the United States, and Canada hoping to improve on its run in Qatar 2022, where they were eliminated in the Round of 16. They have only managed to get past the group stage three times in their history.

South Korea’s World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Kim Seung-gyu (FC Tokyo/JPN), Bum-keun Song (Jeonbuk), Hyeon-woo Jo (Ulsan)

Defenders: Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich/GER), Kim Tae-hyeon (Kashima Antlers/JPN), Jin-seop Park (Zhejiang/CHN), Young-woo Seol (Red Star Belgrade/SRB), Jens Castrop (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER), Ki-hyuk Lee (Gangwon), Tae-seok Lee (Austria Vienna/AUT), Han-beom Lee (Midtjylland/DEN), Yu-min Cho (Al Sharjah/UAE).

Midfielders: Kim Jin-gyu (Jeonbuk), Jun-ho Bae (Stoke City/ENG), Seung-ho Paik (Birmingham/ENG), Hyun-jun Yang (Celtic/SCO), Ji-sung Eom (Swansea/ENG), Lee Kang-in (PSG/FRA), Dong-gyeong Lee (Ulsan), Jae-sung Lee (Mainz/GER), In-beom Hwang (Feyenoord/NED), Hee-chan Hwang (Wolverhampton/ENG).

Forwards: Son Heung-min (LAFC/USA), Hyeon-gyu Oh (Besiktas/TUR), Gue-sung Cho (Midtjylland/DEN).

We also recommend: https://hooligan-soccer.com/mexico-announces-preliminary-55-man-squad-for-the-2026-world-cup/