S. Korea coach planning lineup changes in final World Cup qualifier

With South Korea’s ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup already secured, head coach Hong Myung-bo said Monday he will make lineup changes to close out the qualification campaign.

South Korea will host Kuwait at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. Tuesday to wrap up Group B play in the third round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers.

South Korea already booked their ticket to the World Cup after beating Iraq 2-0 last Thursday. They are leading Group B with 19 points from five wins and four draws, three points ahead of Jordan. Only the top spot in the group and an undefeated record are at stake, though they are mostly for pride, not for any tangible benefits for South Korea’s World Cup chances.

In this context, Hong had already announced Friday, after returning home from Iraq, that his focus will now shift to preparing for the World Cup and he will use the Kuwait match to test young and inexperienced players in the national team setting.

There are several players in their early- to mid-20s with only a few caps to their credit. With zero pressure on the team record-wise, Tuesday’s match is ripe for some lineup experimenting.

“We’re going to maintain our basic tactical framework, since we haven’t had much time to train and some new players have come in,” Hong said at his prematch press conference at Seoul World Cup Stadium. “For tomorrow, I want to test some new players in different positions without changing too much of our framework. But if situations call for it, we may even try a few things during the match.”

One lineup change could see captain Son Heung-min back in the lineup. He was left off the squad list altogether against Iraq, with Hong noting that Son wasn’t fully recovered from a nagging foot injury that had kept him sidelined for a month earlier this year.

“He should be able to play tomorrow,” Hong said. “But I will talk with him after our training session this evening to determine how much he can play. We will make that decision tomorrow.”

After the qualifiers end, South Korea will play at the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Championship as the host country in July, followed by friendlies against the United States and Mexico, two of the three co-hosts of the World Cup alongside Canada, in September. There will also be international match windows in October, November and March before the World Cup.

During that buildup to the big tournament, Hong said he wants to prepare “a manual that can help the team grow in every aspect over a short period of time.”

“September, October and November will be a critical period that can determine how well we can adapt to our surroundings at the World Cup, and I want to make some administrative changes for the national team,” Hong said. “Though I won’t get into details at the moment, I want to spend the one remaining year wisely.”

This is Hong’s second stint as the national team boss. He took over the Taegeuk Warriors about a year prior to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and he said the situations between then and now couldn’t be more different

“Back then, I spent most of that one remaining year figuring out players,” he said. “This time, I mostly have clear ideas on players, and I will be able to work on other aspects of our preparation.”