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Korea eke out 1-0 win over Ghana in last match of 2025

Published: 19 Nov. 2025, 12:47 Updated: 19 Nov. 2025, 17:13

Lee Tae-seok scores the only goal of the match with a header during a men’s national team friendly between Korea and Ghana at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Nov. 18. [YONHAP]

The Korean national football team wrapped up its final match of the year with a victory, edging Ghana 1-0 in a friendly at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Tuesday ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Lee Kang-in, 24, of Paris Saint-Germain, delivered a sharp cross in the 62nd minute that Lee Tae-seok, 23, of Austria Wien, converted with a header to score the match’s only goal and bag his debut first team goal. Before kickoff, Lee Kang-in was honored with the AFC International Player of the Year award.

The win avenged Korea’s 2-3 loss to Ghana in the group stage of the 2022 Qatar World Cup and evened the all-time record between the two sides at four wins and four losses apiece.

Under head manager Hong Myung-bo, who took the helm in September 2024, Korea have tallied 12 wins, five draws, and two losses. The team has gone 4-1-1 in its last six matches, including a three-game winning streak, benefiting from the availability of the side's Europe-based call-ups.

Ghana, which have already secured a spot in the 2026 World Cup, were missing key strikers such as Tottenham Hotspur’s Mohammed Kudus and Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo due to injuries, effectively fielding a second-string squad. Ghana are ranked 73rd in the FIFA rankings, 51 places below Korea at No. 22. Ghana also fell 0-2 to Japan in an away friendly on Nov. 10.

Still, Korea struggled to assert dominance in the first half. Hong, who deployed a back four in last week’s 2-0 win over Bolivia, switched to three across the back with two wingbacks for the Ghana match, but a breakthrough in attack was hard to come by — with Korea recording its first shot in the 40th minute.

With midfielder Hwang In-beom of Feyenoord sidelined due to injury, Lee Kang-in often shifted centrally to fill the void. Forward Oh Hyeon-gyu of Genk was the lone man up top.

Lee Kang-in makes a pass during a men’s national team friendly between Korea and Ghana at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Nov. 18. [YONHAP]

The breakthrough came in the 62nd minute, after a series of substitutions shifted the momentum. Lee Kang-in and Lee Tae-seok combined brilliantly to break the deadlock, with a cross from the winger finding the head of the charging leftback yards in front of goal.

“Although we won, there's still a lot to improve,” Lee Kang-in said after the match. “We’ll prepare better and show a stronger performance at the World Cup.”

Korea missed an opportunity to double the lead in the 74th minute when Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton earned a penalty but sent the shot straight at the goalkeeper.

Ghana’s late push, led by Atalanta’s Kamaldeen Sulemana in the 75th minute, nearly led to an equalizer.

With Tuesday’s win, Korea are odds-on to secure at least the No. 24 spot in the FIFA rankings — the cutoff for Pot 2 in next month’s World Cup draw.

The cold likely dampened attendance, with 33,256 spectators on hand at the 65,000-seat Seoul World Cup Stadium.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK RIN, PIH JU-YOUNG [[email protected]]