Korean football giants Jeonbuk drawn with Hong Kong champs at 2018 AFC Champions League

South Korean pro football champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have been drawn with Hong Kong league winners at the 2018 Asian Football Confederation Champions League.  In a drawing held at AFC House in Kuala Lumpur Wednesday, Jeonbuk, the 2017 K League Classic winners, were paired with Kitchee SC, which will make their AFC Champions League group stage debut. They will be joined by two teams that come through the playoffs in Group E. Jeonbuk are looking for their third ACL title. Choi Kang-hee's sid

Dec. 7, 2017

Tottenham's Son Heung-min scores 6th goal of season in Champions League action

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean attacker Son Heung-min has scored his six goal of the season at the top European club football tournament.Son scored his team's second goal in Spurs' 3-0 win over Apoel FC in their last group stage match at the UEFA Champions League at Wembley Stadium in London on Wednesday (local time). This was Son's third Champions League goal and his sixth total in the 2017-18 season. He has three goals in the English Premier League.  In this photo taken by the Associated Pre

Dec. 7, 2017

Korea plan to train in Middle East next month for 2018 World Cup preparations

South Korea plan to train in the Middle East next month to prepare for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, an official at the national football governing body said Wednesday.The official said the Korea Football Association is currently searching for overseas venues where the men's national team can train for up to two weeks in January."Since South Korea will have cold weather, the association is considering holding its training (somewhere) in the Middle East, such as the United Arab Emirates," the official

Dec. 6, 2017

North Korean national soccer teams in Japan for tournament

North Korea's national soccer teams have arrived in Tokyo as an exception to Japanese sanctions against Pyongyang's missile and nuclear development.North Korea is competing against Japan, China and South Korea in the E-1 Football Championship, which starts Friday.North Korean national soccer team (Yonhap)The arrival of North Korea's men's and women's teams comes amid growing tension in the region. Pyongyang test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile that landed within Japan's 200-nautic

Dec. 5, 2017

Korean left back released by Dortmund

South Korean defender Park Joo-ho has been released by Borussia Dortmund, ending his poor stint with the German football club.Dortmund announced Monday (local time) that they've parted ways with Park after the two sides agreed to terminate the player's contract by mutual consent.Park joined Dortmund from fellow German club Mainz in 2015 on a transfer fee of 3 million euros ($3.56 million) but failed to impress. He played only 712 minutes in 11 matches after signing a three-year deal with the clu

Dec. 5, 2017

Korea looking to defend regional football title, test players ahead of 2018 World Cup

South Korea will try to defend their regional football title and test players in Japan this week ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. South Korea, led by head coach Shin Tae-yong, will compete at the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship that features North Korea, China and Japan. The men's competition will be staged at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo from Saturday to Dec. 16.South Korea will open the tournament against China on Saturday and then take on North Korea next Tuesday. Shin

Dec. 5, 2017

Two Koreas to meet at youth football tournament in China

South and North Korea will meet at a youth football tournament in China later this month, a civic group in Seoul said Monday, a move aimed at promoting inter-Korean exchanges despite escalating inter-Korean military tension.The South-North Sports Exchange Association said that South and North Korea will compete at an international under-15 football tournament that will be staged in Kunming, China, from Dec. 19 to 22. The two Koreas and China will send two teams each to the tournament. They'll be

Dec. 4, 2017

'Korea has chance to reach knockout stage'

INCHEON -- South Korea soccer coach Shin Tae-yong said Sunday that his side has a chance to reach the round of 16 at the 2018 FIFA World Cup despite the tough group draw. 　Shin returned home from Moscow after attending the draw ceremony for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. South Korea is part of Group F that is made up of the defending champions Germany; the North, Central and Caribbean qualifying winners Mexico; and Sweden, which beat Italy in the European qualifying playoffs to reach soccer’s sho

Dec. 3, 2017

Football coach says Korea have chance to reach knockout stage at 2018 World Cup

INCHEON -- South Korea football coach Shin Tae-yong said Sunday that his side has a chance to reach the round of 16 at the 2018 FIFA World Cup despite the tough group draw.Shin returned home from Moscow after attending the draw ceremony for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. South Korea is part of Group F that is made up of the defending champions Germany; the North, Central and Caribbean qualifying winners Mexico; and Sweden, which beat Italy in the European qualifying playoffs to reach football's s

Dec. 3, 2017

Football legend Cha Bum-kun inducted into Korean Sports Hall of Fame

South Korean football legend Cha Bum-kun was inducted into the country's Sports Hall of Fame on Wednesday.Cha joined other sporting legends in a ceremony in Seoul organized by the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee.KSOC has been naming "Korean Sports Heroes" each year since 2011. Previous inductees include Sohn Kee-chung, the 1936 Olympic marathon champion who ran under the Japanese flag, former wrestling Olympic champion Yang Jung-mo, ex-International Olympic Committee Vice President Kim Un-yong

Nov. 29, 2017

Korea hoping to avoid football powerhouses in 2018 World Cup draw

As one of the lowest seeded teams at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, South Korea will be hoping to avoid the big guns when the draw for football's showpiece event takes place later this week in Russia. South Korea will find out their group stage opponents Friday when the draw ceremony opens at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow. Even though their fate will be in hands of those who pick the draw balls, South Korea will be looking for the best pairings in their 10th World Cup appearance.FIFA previously a

Nov. 29, 2017

Korean midfielder on 3-game scoring streak in French league

South Korean midfielder Kwon Chang-hoon has stretched his scoring streak to three matches in the French football league.Kwon, who plays for Dijon FCO in the Ligue 1, scored an equalizer when his club was trailing 1-0 to Amiens SC at Licorne Stadium in Amiens, France, on Tuesday (local time). Starting on the right flank, Kwon found the net in the 15th minute following a pass from Frederic Sammaritano.This was Kwon's fifth goal of the 2017-18 season. The 23-year-old is also on a three-game scoring

Nov. 29, 2017

Korean football icon Park Ji-sung to attend 2018 World Cup draw in Moscow

South Korean football icon Park Ji-sung will attend the 2018 FIFA World Cup draw ceremony in Russia later this week, a source close to the former player said Tuesday.The source said Park will attend the draw for the 2018 World Cup at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow on Friday after receiving an invitation from FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Park, who hung up his boots in 2014, was named youth program chief at the Korea Football Association earlier this month, but has yet to make appearance a

Nov. 28, 2017

New faces on nat'l football team eye to impress at regional tournament

ULSAN -- Two newly selected South Korea national football team players said Tuesday they want to deliver impressive performances at the upcoming regional tournament, hoping for a steady international call up in the future. On South Korea's 24-man squad for the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship in Tokyo next month, Jin Seong-uk and Kim Sung-joon are two of the four members who are trying to make their international debut. South Korea, which qualified for the 2018 FIFA World

Nov. 28, 2017

Korea replace injured goalkeeper for regional football tournament

South Korea on Friday replaced an injured goalkeeper for an upcoming regional football tournament.The Korea Football Association said Kim Seung-gyu, who plays with Japanese club Vissel Kobe, has been dropped from the 24-man squad for the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship in Tokyo due to an injury to his left ankle. The 27-year-old sustained the injury during national team training ahead of the friendly football match against Serbia last week. The KFA said Seongnam FC goalk

Nov. 24, 2017

Korean forward scores 8th goal of season in Europa League action

South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan has scored for the first time in three months as he helped FC Red Bull Salzburg to qualify for the knockout stage of a second-tier European club competition. Hwang scored Salzburg's third goal in their 3-0 win over Vitoria SC in the UEFA Europa League Group I match at Red Bull Arena in Salzburg, Austria, on Thursday (local time). This was Hwang's eighth goal of the 2017-18 season in all competitions and his first since Aug. 20, when he scored against SKN St. P

Nov. 24, 2017

[Video] Korean striker Son suffers ‘racist abuse’

Son Heung-min, a South Korean national who is a striker for England Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, allegedly suffered racist taunts from a man -- who identified himself as a West Ham fan. In a short video clip posted on social media, Son, who is in his car, is signing an autograph for a fan on the road. Another person in a car next to them, is shooting the footage. Son sees the man and smiles at him. (Screen grab from YouTube)But the man shouts at the EPL player, stuttering, “Can you get

Nov. 23, 2017

Reigning pro football champions sign all-time leading scorer to 1-year contract extension

Reigning South Korean pro football champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors said Wednesday they have signed their veteran striker Lee Dong-gook to a one-year contract extension. Jeonbuk, the 2017 K League Classic champions, said Lee will play with them until the end of the 2018 season after signing a one-year contract extension. The club, however, didn't disclose financial details of the deal. Lee's current contract was due to expire next month. Lee will have his 10th season with Jeonbuk. The 38-year-ol

Nov. 22, 2017

Korea selects 8 host cities for 2023 AFC Asian Cup

South Korea on Tuesday selected the venues that will host matches for the top Asian football tournament in the event that the country wins its bid to stage the event in 2023.The Korea Football Association said eight cities -- Suwon, Goyang, Hwaseong, Cheonan, Jeonju, Gwangju, Busan and Jeju -- will host matches if South Korea is successful in its bid to stage the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup in 2023. The national football governing body said the AFC will conduct inspections on the sele

Nov. 21, 2017