By Pearse McLaughlin
A double from South Korea and Spurs captain, Son Heung-Min, and a late header by Jung Seung-Hyeon was enough to see off a poor China side 3-0 here in Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, China. A Son inspired victory over China sends South Korea top of Group C in their World Cup 2026 Qualification campaign.
Aleksandar Jankovic has altered his formation to the 3-4-3 formation as he goes for a more attacking approach from the 3-5-2 formation that won 2-1 last time out away to Thailand in their opening World Cup 2026 Qualifier. In terms of personnel changes there has been one change as in comes Shangyuan Wang to replace Nicholas Yennaris.
Jurgen Klinsmann has changed the shape slightly as he has gone with the 4-2-3-1 formation which is a slightly more defensive formation compared to the 4-1-4-1 formation, he used in their opening day 5-0 victory over Singapore in their World Cup 2026 Qualifier. In terms of personnel changes there has been two as in comes Kim Tae-Hwan and Park Yong-Woo for Seol Young-Woo and Lee Jae-Sung.
South Korea are awarded a penalty on the 9th minute after great play initially down the left-hand side by Hwang Hee-Chan who drove inside and slipped a ball through to Cho Gue-Sung whose shot was smothered by Junling Yan, but China failed to clear, and Hwang Hee-Chan was tripped in the follow up by Linpeng Zhang. A clumsy challenge by the China captain and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot in what was a clear penalty kick, after a quick VAR check by the officials the decision of the referee was confirmed. South Korea captain, Son Heung-Min steps up and makes no mistake with his penalty by powering it into the bottom left-hand corner. 1-0 South Korea. Emphatic finish. Perfect start for the away side.
Son Heung-Min tries his luck from distance on the 24th minute which Junling Yang parries but it is straight into the path of Hwang Hee-Chan whose follow up effort from the angle of the box is well saved. South Korea are now starting to go up the gears as they push for a second.
It is now China’s turn to threaten as it is sloppy defending at the back from South Korea on the 42nd minute as Lee Ki-Jee is dispossessed and allows Binbin Liu to pick out Long Tan who’s free in the box but his first time shot goes agonisingly into the side netting. Better from China as their high press nearly pays off with an equalizer.
On the stroke of half time Lee Kang-In cuts inside from the right where he plays a reverse ball into the path of Son Heung-min who ghosts into the box late and sees his shot saved well by Junling Yang at the near post. From the resulting corner, it’s that combination again as Lee Kang-In’s in swinging corner is beautifully met at the near post by Son Heung-Min’s head who just glanced the ball and saw his header loop into the far corner. Outstanding technique from South Korea’s captain and the goal itself is very reminiscent of Son’s idol, Cristiano Ronaldo’s header away to Sevilla in 2015. China 0 South Korea 2.
South Korea have totally dominated the first half in terms of possession and chances created. A first half double by Son Heung-Min has put South Korea in the driving seat but China did have a major opportunity just before half time which should give them confidence that they can hurt South Korea. China needs to be braver both out and in possession if they are to find any way back into this game. The second half is all set for an exciting conclusion to this massive tie.
A swift counterattack by South Korea leaves Son Heung-Min and Lee Kang-In with a 2-on-1 situation with Son slipping in Lee Kang-In who takes too many touches and must go around the onrushing Junling Yan onto his weaker right foot, takes a couple steps before firing into what seemed an empty net but somehow Chenjie Zhu gets back in time to clear the ball of the line. Great grit and determination shown by Chenjie Zhu to get back and prevent a certain goal. Poor play by Lee Kang-In as he should have added a third goal and put the match out of sight. It remains 2-0.
Three minutes from time sees Jung Seung-Hyeon added a third courtesy of a bullet header into the top left-hand corner following a Son Heung-Min delivery from a free kick. It was a perfectly whipped in freekick by Son Heung-Min from the right-hand side and is met beautifully on the penalty spot by Jung Seung-Hyeon who rose highest and glanced the ball into the far corner. Great goal by Jung Seung-Hyeon as he now makes sure of all three points for South Korea.
It's all over here as South Korea have beaten China by three goals to nil and maintain their perfect start to their 2026 World Cup AFC Qualification campaign. That’s now two wins from two and eight goals scored without reply. Things are starting to look rosy for Jurgen Klinsmann and his South Korea side. China will be disappointed they didn’t lay a glove on South Korea especially as their home support was outstanding and kept singing until the bitter end. There’s no harm in getting beat by South Korea as on paper their squads are miles apart in terms of an array of attacking talent at Klinsmann’s disposal compared to China’s frontline it is night and day.
Next up for China is another competitive fixture and the start of the Asian Cup on Sunday January the 14thas they host Tajikistan in the Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Qatar. The match is set for a kick-off time of 12:30am KST.
Next up for South Korea it is also the start of the Asian Cup as they host Bahrain on Monday January the 15th in the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Qatar. The match is set for a kick-off time of 9:30pm KST.
China: Junling Yan, Linpeng Zhang, Shenlong Jiang, Chenjie Zhu, Binbin Liu, Xi Wu (Nicholas Yennaris 61’), Shangyuan Wang (Tianyi Gao 79’), Yang Liu, Lei Wu (Pu Chen 71’), Long Tan (Yuning Zhang 61’), Shihao Wei (Wai-Tsun Dai 46’). Subs not used: Dianzuo Liu, Dalei Wang, Haofeng Xu, Shaocong Wu, Lei Li, Pengfei Xie, Weijun Xie.
South Korea: Kim Seung-Gyu, Kim Tae-Hwan (Seol Young-Woo 72’), Jung Seung-Hyeon, Kim Min-Jae, Lee Ki-Jee, Hwang In-Beom, Park Yong-Woo (Park Jin-Seob 90+1’), Lee Kang-In (Jeong Woo-Yeong 83’), Son Heung-Min, Hwang Hee-Chan (Lee Jae-Sung 72’), Cho Gue-Sung (Hwang Ui-Jo 72’). Subs not used: Song Bum-Keun, Cho Hyun-Woo, Kim Jin-Su, Kim Young-Gwon, Lee Soon-Min, Moon Seon-Min, Oh Hyeon-Gyu.
Reporter: Pearse McLaughlin
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