Lee Kang-in leads Korea to 1-0 win over China in loud World Cup qualifier at home

Korea grabbed the lead over China thanks to an electric opener by Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in after the break, holding their 1-0 advantage through the rest of the match for a final victory at home.

Lee Kang-in, center, cheers after scoring in the second half of the Group C match against China in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Korea beat China 1-0 in their final match of the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul, locking in their position as Group C winners following an unbeaten run in the round of 36.

Korea grabbed the lead over China thanks to an electric opener by Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in after the break, holding their 1-0 advantage through the rest of the match for a final victory at home.

It marks two straight victories for caretaker manager Kim Do-hoon, who was tapped to lead the senior national team through their two qualifying matches in June.

The two sides remained goalless — though Korea kept possession for about 70 percent of the first half, China held down a strong defense and amped up their attack as the clock crept closer to the halftime whistle.

Tottenham Hotspur and Korea captain Son Heung-min came the closest to opening the scoring in the 20th minute, taking a shot from the center of the pitch outside of the box but was shut down by China goalkeeper and captain Wang Dalei.

Korea's Son Heung-min passes in the second half of the Group C match against China in the second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Son had a shot at redemption soon after, awarded a free kick from the center of the pitch, but the ball went over the crossbar, clipped away by the top of a Chinese player’s head.

The 23-year-old PSG winger had a strong attempt on goal in the 29th minute from outside of the box but was denied by another big save by Chinese keeper Wang.

China had a few good chances, including a missed header by Jiang Shenglong in the 35th minute and another missed shot by defensive forward Liu Yang from the left side of the box in the 43rd minute, but failed to make a dent on the board.

Parts of the first half trudged along like a truck stuck in traffic, with the game seeming to come to an abrupt stop every couple of minutes — three stops between the two Chinese forwards at one point forced three delays within nine minutes.

There was hardly an empty seat in the 66,704-capacity stadium as a total 64,935 fans joined the battle between the Red Devils and Team Dragon. The volume in the stands rarely dropped below a roar and never dipped lower than a loud hum. (A decibel monitor hit 107 decibels within the first handful of minutes in the second half.)

It was a blanket of red at Seoul World Cup Stadium under the lights, with fans of both teams donning kits in slightly different shades of the color, reddish pink for Korea and a deeper wash for visiting Chinese fans.

Fans pack the stadium to watch the World Cup qualifier match between Korea and China at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Cheers resounded from both ends of the stadium, Korea and China supporters locked in a fight to out-loud the opposing side's fans. There was occasional booing, though the origins of each boo were unclear, and a few bleats from a megaphone would intermittently ring out from within the visitors' section.

A small but noisy group of Chinese fans seemed to direct a round of boos toward Son during the first half, to which the Korea captain responded by holding up three fingers with his right hand and forming a circle with his left — appearing to remind the booers of the result from their last bout. Korea beat China 3-0 in Shenzhen, China last November with a brace from Son.

Korea captain Son Heung-min holds up a 3-0 gesture with his hands toward fans after being booed during the first half of a 2026 World Cup qualifying match against China at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Both sides were looking for the first goal in the second half.

Korea were first to make subs, Ulsan HD striker Joo Min-kyu coming on for Mainz’s Lee Jae-sung and Hwang Jae-won subbing in for Park Seung-wook in the 61st minute.

And then before anyone had time to blink, Lee broke through and notched Korea’s first goal of the night, shooting from the center of the box to see the ball hit the back of the net in the bottom right corner. That work earned him Man of the Match honors and bumped his total goal count for the senior national team to nine, according to football statistics site Transfermarkt.

Korea's Lee Kang-in, center, dribbles during the second round World Cup qualifier match against China at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Korea continued to keep most of the possession during the second half and attempted more plays, but a handful of assists were foiled by sloppy receiving in front of the net and with pressure from China’s aggressive defense.

Still, the Taeguk Warriors held onto their 1-0 lead and rode it into one last win for their players in Europe, whose seasons ended a couple weeks ago, and a final international break hurrah for its players in the K League, whose games resume on Saturday.

Korea had already qualified for the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers after their 7-0 victory over Singapore on June 6.

That match saw doubles from both Son and Lee, a first national team goal for Joo, a standout debut by 20-year-old Stoke City striker Bae Jun-ho, who scored nine minutes after stepping onto the senior team pitch for the very first time, and a closer by Wolverhampton Wanderers Hwang Hee-chan.

Bae did get a second senior national team appearance on Tuesday, coming on the pitch in the 90+5 minute along with Al-Ain’s Park Yong-woo, but clocked just a few seconds before the final whistle.

Korea were the more powerful team heading into the match, ranked No. 23 on the FIFA World Rankings as of Tuesday, 65 spots above No. 88 China.

But China were fighting to avoid a loss, as a win or a draw would have guaranteed them a spot in the next round as Group C runners-up.

They narrowly advanced to the third round later Tuesday, edging out Thailand by a paper-thin margin.

Thailand beat Singapore 3-1 in their final second-round Group C game, which was still ongoing after the final whistle in Seoul, to match China's two wins, two losses and two draws — plus their nine goals scored and goals conceded — but remained in third place as China crept by on head-to-head record.

Korea ended the second round with five wins and one draw.

The third round of the World Cup qualifiers begins in September and runs until June 2025.

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