Pohang Steelers vs. Incheon United Preview: Both Teams Looking For A First Win | OneFootball

Pohang have only played once this year: an away fixture against Gimcheon Sangmu. The game finished 1–1 and was a fairly cagey affair. The home side took the lead early before Pohang found an equaliser. Pohang were then reduced to ten men but managed to hold on for a point. Their game last weekend against Gangwon was postponed due to Gangwon's involvement in the AFC Champions League Elite. The game will be played on 28 March.

Incheon, fresh off their promotion from K League 2 last year, had high hopes coming into the season. However, this has yet to pan out. A difficult defeat in the first game back against FC Seoul followed by a loss on the road in Gwangju means that they are one of only two teams in the division not to have earned a point thus far. With the next three fixtures looking equally tricky, Incheon face the prospect of failing to pick up a point in their first month back in the top division.

Head to Head

Pohang and Incheon have met on 46 occasions, with the home side having the far superior record in these outings. Pohang have won 23 of the meetings to Incheon's nine, with 14 games ending level. Incheon's last win in the Steelyard was almost three years ago, in April 2023. Pohang have won four of the last six meetings between the teams, with two ending in a draw. Pohang's biggest win in this fixture was a 5-0 hammering in October 2017.

Opposing Views

This week, I sat down withClaire, our Pohang columnist, to discuss her thoughts on the game and the season ahead.

Luke: Pohang have only played once so far, and had last weekend off. Do you think this will be a benefit or a hindrance coming into the Incheon game?

Claire: I think it should be a benefit, or at least not a hindrance. It feels as if Pohang have had a bit of a false start to the season, playing once and then immediately having our Round 2 fixture rescheduled, but it does mean that fans will be really up for it, and hopefully the players are too. In terms of matchday atmosphere, I think it helps that our Round 1 match was away, so there's a real sense of anticipation ahead of what is now our home opener, especially as some parts of the stadium have been newly renovated in the off-season and will be open to fans for the first time this weekend. The crowd should be lively, so we just need the team to match the energy and deliver a result.

Claire: First off, welcome back to K League 1. Incheon and their fans have got used to winning after a dominant season in K League 2. (How) has the brief sojourn in the second flight affected fans’ approach to the new season, and how will the club keep people on board when the wins aren’t coming as easily?

Luke: I think the fans will give the club a grace period to readjust, especially since the opening fixtures are so tough. That said, there was still an expectation of a mid-table finish, with plenty of talk from the club to back that up. We’ve seen a massive turnover of around thirty players, and while I’m not sure how sustainable that is, the squad clearly needs time to mesh.

How will the fans react if things haven’t improved following the March international break? That’s the big question. During the 2024 relegation season, the fans didn’t turn on the club or the players until the very end. Whether we’d see a similar level of patience this time around remains to be seen—but hopefully it won’t come to that.

Luke: You went to the game in Gimcheon. How was Pohang's performance and did you feel a draw was a fair result? Was there anything you saw that made you optimistic for the year?

Claire: Gimcheon away is always a tough fixture for us, but even so, it was one of those where I felt we should take the one point and be jolly well grateful for it. We conceded very early in the first half, and I spent the rest of the match with a sense of foreboding that I know perhaps a little too well as a Pohang and Everton supporter, but we clawed back an equaliser and held on until the end even after going down to ten men. Some of the players definitely showed tenacity and focus, but perhaps not until too late in the game. Unusually for the Steelers, the defence looked unsettled, and the overall work rate was disappointing. Sorry, did you ask a Pohang fan to be optimistic?

I was pleased to see Pohang players actually attempting to shoot in situations where sometimes, in recent months, the ball has been endlessly passed around the edge of the box before eventually finding its way back to the goalkeeper for no good reason. There were moments of promise from some of the younger players in the squad, not to mention Jakob Tranziska scoring on his debut. His first touch was clumsy, but fans in the away end were soon commenting on his effort and stamina; the lad must have run miles just trying to get involved; he was locked in, and the goal felt deserved. More of that, please.

Claire: 2026 has started with back-to-back losses. Meanwhile fellow promoted side Bucheon already have a win and a draw to their name. How important is it for Incheon to start getting points on the board early in the season, and where are those points going to come from?

Luke: Bucheon’s start has been incredible; winning away at the champions and nearly taking a point from Daejeon in Round 2. They’re doing all this on a fraction of Incheon’s budget, too. From an Incheon point of view before the season, I think we would have targeted Gwangju and Anyang away for wins, plus hoped for a point or two against Seoul, Daejeon, or Pohang.

But after losing to Seoul in that manner—and then the VAR incident at Gwangju—we’re now at the stage where we just need a win by any means necessary. You'd hope something clicks in the next three games, but honestly, we could be sitting bottom without any points by Round 5. The only realistic goal this year is avoiding twelfth, but regardless, Incheon need to start getting some points on the board.

Claire: Having watched them play in the first two rounds, do you think Incheon have been unlucky or fairly beaten? Are there any particular on-pitch weaknesses or areas for concern already arising, and if so what changes are you hoping to see this weekend?

Luke: I wouldn't say Incheon have been well-beaten in either game, but they have been naive. There have been a lot of sloppy passes from the defence and the midfield, and as a result, our front line hasn't had much opportunity. I'd like to see us play a little more directly and try to mix up our style.

The club’s talk of a top-half finish always felt premature to me. After a year away, the priority has to be re-establishing ourselves. Other clubs will target us as 'beatable' simply because we’re the promoted side, and we have to shut that down immediately. We need to cultivate a grittier image and become more difficult to play against, stronger on the ball, and start physically bullying teams off it.

The first two games were littered with individual errors that cost us. Kim Dong-heon and the backline need to be much smarter in possession. It comes down to the K League 1 learning curve: in the second division, the defence had time to play out from the back, but that same style is being punished at this level. We have to adapt, and fast.

Luke: Over the close season, there wasn't a huge amount of transfer activity for Pohang. Are there any weaknesses you think should have been addressed?

Claire: The departure of Oberdan is a huge loss for Pohang, especially given his position right at the core of the squad, and I think beyond his skill and vision, perhaps we have taken for granted his ability to play, and play well, for a full 90 minutes, week in week out. Looking at our midfield now, I'm not sure if there's anyone who can do that. Nobody doubts Ki Sung-yueng's talent, but he isn't getting any younger — then again, even accounting for his time spent overseas he has far more K League 1 experience than the rest of our midfielders combined (Kim Beom-jun, who has just signed his first professional contract with the Steelers, hadn't been born yet when Ki made his K League debut).

There's a lot of pressure on Nishiya Kento to fill the Oberdan-shaped gap, and maybe he will prove himself as the season goes on, but for the time being, it feels like there is an inherent instability, knowing the entire midfield will probably need to be subbed off. That comes at the cost of a change or two elsewhere, too. We're also potentially quite vulnerable to injury in that area, and may find ourselves relying on some youngsters to really step up a level. But hey, at least we have five goalkeepers!

Luke: For the last four or five years, you've been consistently in the top half and even challenging for honours. What does a good season look like for Pohang this year?

Claire: In terms of end results, I think the major aim is to qualify for the ACLE [Asian Champions League Elite]. To do that, we need to be more consistent within the season. Our next eight league fixtures are all at home then we're on the road until the end of July so I think it's going to be important for us to get as many points as we can over the next few weeks, make the Steelyard a place that other teams dread, and build momentum and confidence to carry us through that long run of away matches.

Claire: Incheon don’t have a great track record against Pohang, especially at the Steelyard. What will be different this time?

Luke: I'm hoping that the first two rounds act as a catalyst both for the manager and the team. Even though we control the ball and have lots of possession, we don't do a lot with it. We lose it and then we get punished. Seo Jae-min has been a stand-out so far and looks to be an exciting player. Oh Hu-seong is another shrewd signing. I'd hope that as these two players settle, they'll be the ones to create chances for the team.

We definitely need to be more clinical; we need to start taking more risks and being more creative in the final third. Incheon haven't had a lot of attacking output so far, managing just six shots on target (minus penalties) across 180 minutes of football. Teams are happy to let us have the ball because they know we won't do much with it!

Luke: Pohang are favourites and Incheon haven't won in their last five. Is this going to be an easy home win?   

Claire: I say it's a win, but Pohang lately have a habit of making things difficult. It's what the romantics call 'Park Tae-ha drama'. I'd like it to be an easy win, it should be an easy win, but I wouldn't be surprised to see us throw away an early lead and just barely stay in it (maybe even go behind) in the second half, causing half the home end to walk out and miss a Jorge injury time winner. Or something. Afterwards I'll say things like "what a match" and "that's why I love football" but what I'll really mean is "I hated this" and "just for once, please, could we win 5-0".

Luke: I'd love a point, but I'm expecting a 3-1 Pohang win.