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Super subs lift Korea to early World Cup berth

Published: 06 Jun. 2025, 09:04

Korea's coach Hong Myung-bo looks on during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifier football match between Iraq and Korea at Basra International Stadium in Basra on June 5. [AFP/YONHAP]

After the starters couldn't get anything going, super subs stepped up for Korea and helped the country grab an early berth for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Korea beat Iraq 2-0 for their latest Group B victory in the third round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers at Basra International Stadium in Basra, Iraq, on Thursday. Korea is top in Group B with 19 points, three more than Jordan, and those two countries have qualified for the World Cup as the top two seeds in their group with one match remaining next week.

Korea had virtually nothing working offensively early on, with Iraq applying aggressive pressing and giving the visitors precious little space.

The match took an unexpected turn when Iraqi forward Ali Al-Hamadi was sent off with a direct red card in the 26th minute for fouling Cho Yu-min in their battle for a loose ball. Things began opening up for Korea, though the best they managed was hitting the crossbar twice — first by Lee Jae-sung with a header in the 36th minute, followed by Lee Kang-in during the late minutes of the first half with a left-footed attempt.

To begin the second half, head coach Hong Myung-bo made a switch in midfield that pushed his team over the hump.

Defensive midfielder Park Yong-woo picked up a yellow card midway through the first half and Hong replaced him with Kim Jin-gyu, a more attack-minded midfielder. And almost immediately, Kim started buzzing on the right side by working off passes from Lee Kang-in and Seol Young-woo.

Kim's effort led to the team's first goal in the 63rd minute, when Lee set him up in the center of the box. After a fine first touch, Kim calmly slotted the ball home for his first international goal since January 2022.

Before Thursday, Kim had last played for Korea in July 2022. But the 28-year-old worked his way back onto the radar of the national team staff this season with a strong run of play for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, currently leading the K League 1. In explaining his selection of Kim, Hong said on May 26 that Kim had shown he could be competitive in the national team setting and had taken major steps forward after stalling for a couple of years.

Hong also said he hoped to pit several players against each other for some internal competition for playing time in midfield, and Kim became the latest to throw his hat into the ring.

Kim was named the Man of the Match.

"This was my first national team opportunity in a long time and I was able to score thanks to help from my teammates," Kim said. "I am happy that we accomplished our goal of qualifying for the World Cup after playing in a difficult environment."

Kim's teammate on Jeonbuk, Jeon Jin-woo, also made his presence felt after entering the match in the 74th minute in his first senior international match.

Jeon is leading the K League 1 with 11 goals this season and showed off his playmaking chops by assisting Korea's second goal by Oh Hyeon-gyu, yet another second-half substitute, in the 82nd minute.

In the minutes leading up to that goal and also afterward, Jeon handled the ball with the kind of assuredness not usually displayed by players in their first national team appearance. Jeon had his first shot attempt just three minutes after taking the field, and then found Oh, his former teammate on Suwon Samsung Bluewings for three seasons, for the dagger goal following a fast break.

Hong said last month that Jeon was capable of doing much more than just scoring goals and said he hoped Jeon's confidence would rub off on the rest of the national team. The coach has been successful with his substitutions throughout this qualification round and the subs once again made Hong look prescient in the monumental victory.

Yonhap