Korea football coach to use Son in two-striker system with various attacking options open

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

March 19, 2018

Coach Shin defends picking 5 defenders from one club for pre-World Cup matches

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

March 12, 2018

Tottenham star Son Heung-min leads Korean roster for pre-World Cup friendlies

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

March 12, 2018

Tottenham's Son Heung-min scores 16th goal of season in Champions League action

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

March 8, 2018

Korea football coach says reaching World Cup knockout stage is possible

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

March 6, 2018

Ex-star footballer awaits coaching debut with 2nd division club

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

Feb. 27, 2018

S. Korea blank Latvia in football friendly

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

Feb. 4, 2018

South Korea beat Moldova 1-0 in football friendly

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

Jan. 28, 2018

S. Korea start 2018 at No. 59 in FIFA world football rankings

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

Jan. 18, 2018

Tottenham's Son Heung-min scores 11th goal of season

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

Jan. 14, 2018

New football official looking to hire technical coach for nat'l team

A new South Korean football official overseeing national team coaches said Monday he plans to bring in a technical assistant for the national team ahead of this year's FIFA World Cup.Kim Pan-gon was formally unveiled as head of the new committee on national team coaching hiring at the Korea Football Association. Previously, the KFA's technical committee had been responsible for hiring coaches. As part of its restructuring, the KFA created Kim's committee to handle all matters related to naming c

Jan. 8, 2018

S. Korea nat’l football coach says Tottenham manager gave hint on Son Heung-min use

South Korea football coach Shin Tae-yong said Friday that Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino gave a hint on the use of their ace attacker Son Heung-min. Shin returned home from his two-week trip in Europe where he inspected national players in preparation for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He first checked Troyes AC striker Suk Hyun-jun in France and later moved to Britain to see players like Son, Ki Sung-yueng of Swansea City and Lee Chung-yong of Crystal Palace.  (Yonhap)Shin said he met

Jan. 5, 2018

Son Heung-min scores 1st goal of 2018, reaches double figures for season

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min has gotten on the board in 2018.Son scored his first goal of the new year against West Ham on Thursday (local time) at Wembley Stadium in London, and his 84th-minute marker helped the Spurs salvage a 1-1 draw.Son now has seven goals in the English Premier League for the season and 10 goals in all competitions. He has reached double figures in goals for the second consecutive season, after netting 21 goals -- 14 in the Premier League, six at the

Jan. 5, 2018

Korea men's football team to train in Turkey for 2018 World Cup prep

South Korea will set up their winter training camp in Turkey later this month to prepare for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the national football governing body said Wednesday.The Korea Football Association said the men's national football team will train in Antalya, Turkey, from Jan. 22 to Feb. 4. "We originally considered ... Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates as our winter training destination, but had to change it, since we couldn't find friendly match opponents there," an official from the KFA

Jan. 3, 2018

Korean football chief pledges nat'l team support to reach 2018 World Cup knockout stage

South Korean football chief Chung Mong-kyu said Tuesday he is ready to give the best support for the men's national team to reach the knockout stage at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In his new year message, Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-gyu said that the national football governing body will not hesitate to support the national team at international competitions. "Last year, the KFA received heavy criticism and we understand people's demand and judgment," Chung said. "We'll do our b

Jan. 2, 2018

Pro football league commissioner vows to entertain more fans in 2018

South Korea's pro football league commissioner said Tuesday that the K League will be ready to entertain more fans with exciting matches in the new year.In his message for 2018, Kwon Oh-gap said he wants to see the K League take a big leap this year, during which the FIFA World Cup will take place. "The league, clubs and players will do their best to make fans happy with exciting matches," Kwon said. "We're also going to raise the quality of K League coverage." Kwon said the league will keep wor

Jan. 2, 2018

Korean pro football club Gangwon interested in signing Crystal Palace midfielder

The president of South Korean pro football club Gangwon said Friday they're currently working to sign midfielder Lee Chung-yong from English Premier League side Crystal Palace.Gangwon CEO Cho Tae-yong said his club's winter transfer target includes Lee and other players in Europe."It's true that we're working to sign Lee," Cho said to Yonhap News Agency in a phone interview. "We can't reveal any details, but we'll work hard to land the deal." Lee, 29, is contracted through June 2018 with Palace,

Dec. 29, 2017

Korean football club Jeju sign ex-Brazil U-20 forward Roberson

South Korean pro football club Jeju United said Friday they've signed Brazilian forward Roberson de Arruda Alves. The K League Classic club didn't release the details of Roberson's contract, but confirmed that the 28-year-old will play for them next year. Roberson, as he is commonly known, played for the Brazilian under-20 national team in 2008 and had two goals in three matches, according to Jeju.  This photo, provided by South Korean football club Jeju United on Dec. 29, 2017, shows the club`s

Dec. 29, 2017

S. Korea selects director to handle nat'l football team coach hirings

South Korea's national football governing body on Tuesday appointed a director to handle national team coach hirings. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said its board members approved former Hong Kong national team boss Kim Pan-gon to lead the newly created national football team coach appointment committee. "Although Kim didn't have an outstanding career as a player, he has proven his ability as a coach and administrator," the KFA said."His appointment is meaningful because it shows those wh

Dec. 26, 2017

Reigning pro football champions own league's largest payroll: data

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, the reigning South Korean professional football champions, also have the league's largest payroll and own its five highest-paid players, data showed Friday.The K League, operators of the professional competitions, released salary data on 11 clubs in the first-division K League Classic, excluding the military club Sangju Sangmu.The data showed that K League Classic players made 196.5 million won ($180,780) each on average.For South Korean players, the average annual salary

Dec. 22, 2017