South Korea World Cup 2026 Squad: Final 26-Player List

Son Heung-min heads to North America for a fourth World Cup, and many expect it to be his last. The Republic of Korea named their 26-player South Korea World Cup 2026 Squad on May 16, 2026, with head coach Hong Myung-bo confirming the Los Angeles FC forward as captain. At 33, Son doesn’t look like a player running down the clock. He recorded four assists in a single MLS half against Orlando City in April 2026.

South Korea qualified unbeaten from AFC Group B in the third round, going six wins and four draws across 10 matches to seal their place in North America. The Taegeuk Warriors enter Group A alongside co-host Mexico, South Africa and Czechia. The group won’t be straightforward, but this squad has more European club depth than any Korean team before it.

South Korea Quick Facts:

• Country: Republic of Korea
• Confederation: AFC
• Nickname: Taegeuk Warriors
• Head Coach: Hong Myung-bo
• Captain: Son Heung-min
• Group: Group A
• Group Opponents: Mexico, South Africa, Czechia
• First Match: June 11 vs Czechia, Guadalajara Stadium, 10:00 PM ET
• Last Group Match: June 24 vs South Africa, Monterrey Stadium, 9:00 PM ET
• FIFA Ranking: 25th (as of April 1, 2026)
• World Cup Appearance: Twelfth
• Kit Manufacturer: Nike

South Korea Squad List for World Cup 2026

Goalkeepers

• Jo Hyeon-woo, 38, Ulsan HD FC (South Korea)
• Kim Seung-gyu, 35, FC Tokyo (Japan)
• Song Bum-keun, 28, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (South Korea)

Defenders

• Kim Min-jae, 29, Bayern Munich (Germany)
• Cho Yu-min, 26, Sharjah FC (UAE)
• Lee Han-beom, 28, FC Midtjylland (Denmark)
• Kim Tae-hyeon, 26, Kashima Antlers (Japan)
• Park Jin-seob, 27, Zhejiang FC (China)
• Lee Gi-hyuk, 26, Gangwon FC (South Korea)
• Lee Tae-seok, 26, Austria Wien (Austria)
• Seol Young-woo, 27, FK Crvena zvezda (Serbia)
• Jens Castrop, 22, Borussia Monchengladbach (Germany)
• Kim Moon-hwan, 33, Daejeon Hana Citizen FC (South Korea)

Midfielders

• Yang Hyun-jun, 24, Celtic FC (Scotland)
• Paik Seung-ho, 29, Birmingham City FC (England)
• Hwang In-beom, 29, Feyenoord Rotterdam (Netherlands)
• Kim Jin-gyu, 28, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (South Korea)
• Bae Jun-ho, 23, Stoke City FC (England)
• Eom Ji-sung, 24, Swansea City (Wales)
• Hwang Hee-chan, 30, Wolverhampton Wanderers (England)
• Lee Dong-gyeong, 28, Ulsan HD FC (South Korea)
• Lee Jae-sung, 33, Mainz 05 (Germany)
• Lee Kang-in, 25, Paris Saint-Germain (France)

Forwards

• Oh Hyeon-gyu, 25, Besiktas (Turkey)
• Son Heung-min (C), 33, Los Angeles FC (USA)
• Cho Gue-sung, 28, FC Midtjylland (Denmark)

Jo Hyeon-woo at 38 is the oldest player, making his third World Cup appearance. Jens Castrop at 22 is the youngest outfield player and the first dual-heritage player in Korean World Cup history after switching allegiance from Germany in 2025.

Fifteen of the 26 earn their wages in European leagues across nine countries, with England supplying four and Germany three. The remaining players are split between the K League, MLS, J.League, UAE and China.

South Korea World Cup 2026 Fixtures

South Korea play all three group stage matches across Mexico. Kick-off times are listed in Eastern Time (ET) for North American viewers and Korean Standard Time (KST) for fans watching at home.

Date	Match	Venue	Time (ET)	Time (KST)
June 11, 2026	South Korea vs Czechia	Guadalajara Stadium, Guadalajara	10:00 PM	11:00 AM (Jun 12)
June 18, 2026	Mexico vs South Korea	Guadalajara Stadium, Guadalajara	9:00 PM	10:00 AM (Jun 19)
June 24, 2026	South Africa vs South Korea	Monterrey Stadium, Monterrey	9:00 PM	10:00 AM (Jun 25)

The top two teams from Group A advance automatically to the round of 32, with the eight best third-placed teams also progressing. Mexico, playing on home soil in Guadalajara, will set the standard for what the group’s top spot requires. The June 18 fixture against the co-hosts is effectively the group’s defining match.

Manager: Hong Myung-bo

Hong Myung-bo was born on February 12, 1969, making him 57 at this tournament. The Korea Football Association appointed him for a second spell in charge on July 7, 2024, replacing the previous manager after poor results. He led South Korea at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where the team exited in the group stage.

As a player, Hong earned 136 caps across four consecutive World Cups from 1990 to 2002, captaining the 2002 side to fourth place and winning the Bronze Ball as the first Asian player to receive an individual award at the tournament. Pelé included him in the FIFA 100 list of the 125 greatest living players in 2004.

Tactically, Hong uses a 4-2-3-1 built around defensive compactness and quick vertical transitions. A double pivot screens the back four. Lee Kang-in gets freedom as the attacking midfielder. Full-backs push high when Korea win possession. It’s a system that rewards patience and penalises teams that press without structure.

Star Player: Son Heung-min

Son Heung-min is 33 and plays forward for Los Angeles FC. He moved to California in August 2025 for $26.5 million, an MLS record at the time. He spent a decade at Tottenham Hotspur before that, scoring 127 Premier League goals and becoming the first Asian player to win the Premier League Golden Boot in 2022.

Son has 143 caps and 54 goals for the Republic of Korea, making him the country’s most-capped player. His three World Cup goals put him joint-highest in South Korean tournament history alongside Ahn Jung-hwan and Park Ji-sung. The most iconic came in added time against Germany in 2018, sealing a 2-0 win that eliminated the defending champions from the group stage.

His role in 2026 extends beyond scoring. Son presses high to trigger Hong’s defensive block and pulls centre-backs out of position to create lanes for Hwang Hee-chan and Lee Kang-in. His AFC qualification form was sharp and his LAFC performances in 2026 showed no sign of the decline that ended his Spurs chapter. If he fires, Korea advances.

Key Players to Watch

Bae Jun-ho

Bae Jun-ho is 23 and plays central midfield for Stoke City in England’s Championship. In Hong’s 4-2-3-1, he fits naturally into the double pivot, carrying the ball forward, pressing hard without it and producing the occasional long-range effort that caught the coach’s eye. With five senior caps heading into this tournament, a strong showing could fast-track him into Korea’s plans for the next cycle.

Kim Min-jae

Kim Min-jae is 29 and plays centre-back for Bayern Munich, where he has cemented himself as one of the Bundesliga’s elite defenders since arriving in 2023. For South Korea, he is the defensive anchor: aerial dominance, composure on the ball and sharp positional reading are what hold Hong’s block together. He is the player opponents target at set pieces, and the one Korea rely on to deal with them.

Hwang Hee-chan

Hwang Hee-chan is 30 and plays for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League. His stoppage-time goal against Portugal at Qatar 2022 sent South Korea to the round of 16 in one of the tournament’s most dramatic moments. He plays best arriving late into dangerous areas, and in a squad where Son leads the press and Lee Kang-in supplies the creativity, Hwang is South Korea’s sharpest secondary attacking weapon.

Qualification Path & World Cup History

South Korea topped AFC Group B in the third qualifying round with six wins and four draws across 10 matches, finishing unbeaten. The Korea Football Association confirmed their place once the campaign concluded in 2025. No other AFC side completed the third round without a defeat, a record built on the defensive structure Hong Myung-bo installed from his first match in 2024.

South Korea have appeared at 11 previous FIFA World Cups, making 2026 their 12th. Their 10 consecutive appearances from 1986 to 2022 is the longest unbroken streak in Asian football history. Their all-time tournament record reads seven wins, 10 draws and 21 losses, with 39 goals scored and 78 conceded.

The 2002 World Cup remains South Korea’s benchmark. Co-hosting with Japan, they knocked out Italy and Spain in the knockouts before losing to Germany in the semi-final and finishing fourth. No Asian nation has gone further at a World Cup. At Qatar 2022, a 90th-minute Hwang Hee-chan goal beat Portugal 2-1 to send them through the group, before Brazil ended their run 4-1 in the round of 16.

What to Expect & Our Prediction

South Korea line up in a 4-2-3-1 with a compact defensive block and fast vertical transitions as the core identity. The double pivot protects the back four, Lee Kang-in operates freely as the number 10 behind Son, and the full-backs push high in possession phases to overload wide areas. It’s a structured setup that has frustrated better-ranked opponents before.

The weak point is clear: three recognised forwards means the attacking load falls heavily on midfielders arriving from deep. March 2026 friendlies produced a 0-4 loss to Ivory Coast and a 1-0 defeat to Austria. Hwang In-beom arrived at camp with an ankle concern from Feyenoord, though Hong confirmed he completed full training load before the squad was finalised.

South Korea are expected to advance from Group A, most likely as runners-up behind Mexico. Czechia on June 11 is their clearest route to an opening three points, while the Mexico match will likely determine their final group position. The round of 32 is the realistic baseline, and reaching the round of 16 would match their 2022 result and represent a successful tournament for Hong Myung-bo. It’s not likely to be Son’s goodbye yet.

South Korea World Cup 2026 Squad FAQs

The South Korea World Cup 2026 Squad is the most European-seasoned group the Taegeuk Warriors have ever assembled. Hong Myung-bo has a defensive spine strong enough to contain top opponents and a captain still capable of producing decisive moments. Son Heung-min hasn’t come to North America to collect a participation medal. Neither has the squad behind him.