Korea crush Singapore 5-0 in World Cup qualifer as Europe stars shine

Korea bested Singapore 5-0 in their first game of the World Cup Asian qualifiers on Thursday at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul after an electric second half quickly made the game’s slow beginning no more than a distant memory.

Korea's Son Heung-min, left, and Cho Gue-song cheer after Cho scores the first point of the match against Singapore at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Friday. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Korea bested Singapore 5-0 in their first game of the World Cup Asian qualifiers on Thursday at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul after an electric second half quickly made the game’s slow beginning no more than a distant memory.

The win puts the Korean national team in the top half of Group C in the qualifiers' second round and marks its fourth straight win under Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who is patching up his record after a disappointing start.

Korea kept the pressure on Singapore early in the game, with goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu on the home team’s side of the field hardly seeing any action. But the No. 155 Lions stood their ground against No. 24 Korea, denying the home team point after point even as they opened up numerous scoring opportunities.

It seemed as if every time Korea got the ball close to the net, a man in Lions’ blue would boot the ball back down the pitch, forcing the national team to restart their campaign. Korea got the ball in the net once during the first half, but referee Bijan Heidari of Iran declared an offside, which kept the board null-null.

The game was also one of slips and trips on the pitch. Seoul saw plenty of cold rain earlier Thursday with drops still falling just a couple hours before kickoff. One collision between Korea's Lee Kang-in and Singapore’s Muhammad Nazrul Nazari had the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder visibly limping throughout the rest of the first half.

But finally, in the game’s 44th minute, a quick goal by forward Cho Gue-song with a smooth assist by Lee Kang-in put Korea on the board to make the score a long-awaited 1-0.

Korea's Cho Gue-sung celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the second round of the Asian qualifier group C match for 2026 World Cup against Singapore at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Thursday. [AP/YONHAP]

Korea came close to another goal, keeping up the fight during three minutes of additional time, but Singapore’s goalkeeper Hassan Abdullah Sunny put a stop to back and forth headers by the home team.

It was in the second half that the Taeguk Warriors seemed to finally come alive.

In stark contrast to the previous 45 minutes, Korea got things off to a quick start. A header by Hwang Hee-chan in the 49th minute slid the home team into a 2-0 lead. Hwang, winger for the Premier League’s Wolverhampton Wolves, was later named man of the match, earning 3 million won ($2,300) along with the title.

But the scoreboard was hardly static. Another shot in the 63rd minute by captain Son Heung-min from the center of the pitch sent the ball smoothly into the net and the stadium into a roar. The Korean team were up 3-0 and playing with confidence.

Klinsmann then made his first substitutions of the game, sliding in Hwang Ui-jo for Cho Gue-sung, Jeong Woo-yeong for Lee Jae-sung and Kim Jin-su for Lee Ki-je in minute 65.

The move proved timely as fresh-legged Hwang of Norwich City scored the team’s fourth goal of the game just three minutes later with a successful penalty.

Klinsmann made two more switches, substituting in Lee Soon-min for Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu for Hwang Hee-chan.

Korean national team Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann cheers for the squad ahead of their match against Singapore on Thursday in western Seoul. [NEWS1]

After a brief period without any action, a swift left-footed goal by midfielder Lee Kang-in from the center of the pitch kicked up the score even higher for Korea. Fans in the sold-out stadium pulled out their flashlights as Korea pushed the ball back toward Singapore’s net where the 22-year-old PSG star shot in the fifth goal of the game, which would also be the last.

Thursday’s match against Singapore was a show of force for Klinsmann, who earlier said during a press conference the national team would not overlook any opponent on their road to qualifying for Korea’s 11th straight World Cup.

Despite low scoring to start, Korea’s strength showed on the pitch, outrunning the Lions when it came the away team’s turn to go on offense.

Klinsmann stacked his squad with players from Europe, whose clubs are on an international break. Fans heading into the stadium Thursday donned a colorful palette of European jerseys carrying national team names on their backs.

Every point scored during Thursday's match was made by a player who switched their jersey this week from their club’s to their country’s: Midtjylland’s Cho Gue-sung, Wolves’ Hwang Hee-chan, Tottenham’s captain Son Heung-min, Norwich City’s Hwang Ui-joo and PSG’s Lee Kang-in.

Korea's Cho Gue-song, Son Heung-min, Lee Jae-sung and Lee Kang-in are back with the national team from their clubs in Europe during the international break for a second round Group C match against Singapore on Thursday in western Seoul. [NEWS1]

Korea next plays China in Shenzhen, China on Tuesday for their second Group C match of the second qualification round.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]