Korea Republic national football team
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| Nickname(s) | Taegeuk Jeonsa (Taegeuk Warriors) (태극전사 / 太極戰士), Tigers of Asia, Reds Devils | ||
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| Association | Daehan Chukgu Hyeophoe | ||
| Confederation | AFC (Asia) | ||
| Head coach |  Huh Jung-Moo |
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| Captain | Park Ji-Sung | ||
| Most caps | Hong Myung-Bo (136) | ||
| Top scorer | Cha Bum-Kun (55) | ||
| FIFA code | KOR | ||
| FIFA ranking | 52 | ||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 17 (December 1998) | ||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 56 (February 1996) | ||
| Elo ranking | 32 | ||
| Highest Elo ranking | 15 (Sep 1980, Jun 2002) | ||
| Lowest Elo ranking | 59 (August 1967) | ||
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| First international | |||
South Korea 5 - 1 Hong Kong  (Hong Kong, U.K.; July 6, 1948)[1] |
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| Biggest win | |||
South Korea 16 - 0 Nepal  (Incheon, South Korea; September 29, 2003) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||
 Sweden 12 - 0 South Korea (London, England; August 5, 1948) |
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| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 7 (First in 1954) | ||
| Best result | Fourth place, 2002 | ||
| AFC Asian Cup | |||
| Appearances | 11 (First in 1956) | ||
| Best result | Winners, 1956 and 1960 | ||
| Confederations Cup | |||
| Appearances | 1 (First in 2001) | ||
| Best result | 1st round, 2001 | ||
The Korea Republic national football team (Korean:대한민국 축구 국가대표팀 / Daehanminguk Chukgu Gukgadaepyo-Team) represents the Republic of Korea in international football competitions. The team, also known as South Korea, is recognized as Korea Republic by FIFA. It is often considered Asia's most successful national team, since it made its debut at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Being a two-time straight AFC Asian Cup champion, South Korea has participated in seven World Cup final tournaments and became the first and only Asian team to reach the semi-finals, doing so when it co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with Japan. It recently qualified for its eighth World Cup final tournament, the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. It is the only Asian team to have qualified for the World Cup for seven times consecutively and currently holds the best FIFA World Cup record in Asia.[2]
[edit] World Cup History
Since the 1950s, South Korea has emerged as a major football power in Asia, winning several prestigious Asian football championships, including the first two Asian Cup tournaments. The South Korean national team has also played in six consecutive World Cup finals from 1986, making a total of seven World Cup finals in all. It recently qualified for its eighth World Cup finals by qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
In their first World Cup finals tournament, the 1954 World Cup, South Korea played games against Hungary and Turkey losing 0-9 and 0-7, respectively. The South Korean team was inexperienced and had a long and complicated flight schedule prior to arriving at the tournament which helped contribute to their big losses.
It took 32 years before South Korea was again able to participate in the World Cup finals when they qualified for the 1986 World Cup held in Mexico City. They lost 3-1 to Argentina, held Bulgaria 1-1, and narrowly lost to Italy 3-2.
Until the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which it co-hosted with Japan, the South Korean team was unable to garner a single win at any of the tournaments. Despite spirited play and good effort, South Korea has lost or drawn all of its matches except for in the last two tournaments which were held in 2002 and 2006.
[edit] 2002 World Cup at home
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was hosted jointly with Japan. Led by Dutch coach Guus Hiddink and assistant coach Pim Verbeek, South Korea defeated Portugal as well as European powerhouses Italy and Spain. There was a world wind of controversy regarding this feat, and many people believe the South Korea fixed the game. Replays show a terrible amount of fouling made by the South Korean team, that they got away with. Still to this day there are questions surrounding this. Still, the amazing feat shown by the Korea Republic national football team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup brought fame and drew the attention of many different countries worldwide, which further led to scouting from several European Premier Leagues. The Koreans went on to become the first Asian national team to reach the World Cup semi-finals, going one step further than their North Korean counterparts who reached the quarter-finals at the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England.
[edit] Road to Germany 2006
On June 8, 2005, South Korea qualified for their seventh World Cup by beating Kuwait 4-0 in Kuwait City.
The enthusiasm of the red-clad supporters, known as the "Red Devils", also made a huge impression on viewers worldwide. After the team success, football had an explosion of popularity in the country, where the game had traditionally been less popular than other games, such as baseball, formerly the most popular spectator sport in the country.
[edit] 2006 World Cup
During the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, South Korea achieved their first World Cup victory outside of Asia by beating Togo 2-1 in Frankfurt on June 13. Against France, the team managed a late equalizer from Park Ji-Sung to end up with a 1-1 tie and this put them tied with Switzerland on top of their group. However, they were knocked out of the tournament after a 2-0 loss against Switzerland, while France advanced with a 2-0 win against Togo.
[edit] 2010 World Cup qualifying
In the final round of South Africa 2010 World Cup qualifying, South Korea won the Group B with 16 points and qualified for the tournament finals.
South Korea's first match was another showdown with North Korea, whom they met in the previous qualifying round. For the third time in a row, the match ended in a draw. Hong Yong-Jo converted a penalty to put the North Koreans ahead in the 63rd minute, but Ki Sung-Yeung equalised five minutes later at a neutral venue in Shanghai.
In their second match, Korea Republic crushed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 4-1 at home. The South Koreans took the lead in the 19th minute when Daegu FC's Lee took a pass from Lee Chung-Yong and deflected shot off a defender that flew over the shoulder of goalkeeper Majed Naser. Park doubled the scoreline six minutes later when he stole a ball from a defender and blasted a shot into the upper right corner of the net. The lone goal for the UAE came from second-half substitute Ismail Al Hammadi who took advantage of a defensive lapse to slide in a shot in the 71st minute. Lee then struck again nine minutes later and Kwak Tae-hee had the final score.
South Korea scored a shock away win with a 2-0 defeat of Saudi Arabia, which was their first win against Saudi Arabia in 19 years. Lee Keun Ho scored the first goal in the 77th minute, rounding off a move that saw the ball passed all around the park before Saudi hopes were buried when AS Monaco striker Park Chu-Young rattled in a second one minute into injury time of the second-half after catching the hosts on the counter-attack. Their fourth match against Iran ended with a 1-1 draw at Tehran. Javad Nekounam, who plays for Spanish side Osasuna, sent more than 80,000 home fans wild when he fired home a close range free kick for Iran on the hour mark. However, Manchester United's Park Ji-Sung helped Korea Republic to a share of the spoils. Park pounced with a decisive header in the 81st minute when Iranian goalkeeper Mehdi Rahmati managed to only punch out an incoming free kick.
On June 6, 2009, South Korea qualified for their eighth World Cup finals by beating the UAE 2-0 in a home match. It is the seventh consecutive time that the South Koreans have qualified for the tournament. A few days later, South Korea drew 0-0 at home with Saudi Arabia, a team who at the time were still in the running for qualification. A 1-1 draw of their final match against Iran meant that South Korea was the only team unbeaten throughout the whole AFC qualifying campaign, with 7 wins and 7 draws in total. It also extended South Korea's unbeaten streak to 24 games, since losing to Chile by 0-1 in a friendly match on January 30, 2008. It also defeated Australia 3-1 in a friendly match soon after. They were currently undefeated for 27 matches but the record was currently broken by Serbia.
[edit] Recent and Forthcoming matches
[edit] World Cup record
| World Cup Finals | World Cup Qualifications | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA | |
| 1930 to 1950 | Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
 1954 |
Round 1 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | |
| 1958 |
Entry not accepted by FIFA [3] [4] | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
 1962 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | |
 1966 |
Did not enter | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
 1970 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | |
 1974 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 4 | |
 1978 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 16 | 9 | |
 1982 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | |
| 1986 |
Round 1 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 3 | |
 1990 |
Round 1 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 1 | |
 1994 |
Round 1 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 32 | 5 | |
 1998 |
Round 1 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 8 | |
 2002 |
Fourth Place | 4 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 6 | Host Nation | ||||||
| 2006 |
Round 1 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 7 | |
 2010 |
Qualified | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 22 | 7 | |
| Total | 8/19 | 24 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 22 | 53 | 103 | 62 | 30 | 11 | 199 | 65 | ||
- *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
- **Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
[edit] FIFA Confederations Cup Record
| Year | Round | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 to 1999 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2001 |
Round 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 2003 to 2009 | Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 1/8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
[edit] Asian Cup record
| Year | Round | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 |
Champions | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 6 |
| 1960 |
Champions | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
 1964 |
Third Place | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
 1968 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 1972 |
Runners-up | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| 1976 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 1980 |
Runners-up | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 6 |
 1984 |
Round 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
 1988 |
Runners-up | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 |
| 1992 |
Did not qualify | - | - | - | - | - | - |
 1996 |
Quarter-finals | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 11 |
 2000 |
Third Place | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 |
 2004 |
Quarter-finals | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 |
   2007 |
Third Place | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 2011 |
Qualified | ||||||
| Total | 11/14 | 50 | 23 | 14 | 13 | 79 | 53 |
- *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
- **Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
[edit] East Asian Football Championship Record
| Year | Round | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 |
Champions | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 2005 |
Fourth Place | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2008 |
Champions | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| 2010 |
Qualified |
- **Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
[edit] Summer Olympics record
| Year | Round | GP | W | D* | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1948 |
Quarterfinals | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 15 |
| 1964 |
First Round | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| 1988 |
First Round | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1992 |
First Round | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 1996 |
First Round | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
 2000 |
First Round | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
 2004 |
Quarterfinals | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 8 |
| 2008 |
First Round | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 2012 |
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| Total | 8/16 | 24 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 23 | 56 |
- *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
- **Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
[edit] Current squad
Squad called up for Friendly match against Denmark on 14 November (Esbjerg) and Serbia on 18 November 2009 (London)[5]. (Caps and goals as of 18 November 2009 against Serbia) *match by only Denmark
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[edit] Recent Call Ups
The following players have also been called up to the Korea Republic squad within the last twelve months.
- Goalkeepers
No players
- Defenders
| Player | DoB/Age | Caps | Goals | Team | Most Recent Call up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lim Yoo-Hwan | 2 December 1983 | 1 | 0 | Jeonbuk Hyundai |
Training session, January 2009 |
| Kim Chi-Gon | 29 July 1983 | 9 | 0 | FC Seoul |
2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Iran, 11 February 2009 |
| Hwang Jae-Won | 13 April 1981 | 3 | 0 | Pohang Steelers |
2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Korea DPR, 1 April 2009 |
| Kim Chang-Soo | 12 September 1985 | 2 | 0 | Busan I'Park |
Friendly match v. Oman, 3 June 20091 |
| Kim Kun-Hoan | 12 August 1986 | 0 | 0 | Yokohama F. Marinos |
Friendly match v. Oman, 3 June 20091 |
| Choi Hyo-Jin | 18 August 1983 | 6 | 0 | Pohang Steelers |
Friendly match v. Paraguay, 12 August 2009 |
| Lee Gang-Jin | 25 April 1986 | 0 | 0 | Jubilo Iwata |
Friendly match v. Paraguay, 12 August 2009 |
| Kim Dong-Jin | 9 January 1982 | 59 | 2 |  Zenit |
Friendly match v. Senegal, 14 October 2009 |
- Midfielders
| Player | DoB/Age | Caps | Goals | Team | Most Recent Call up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song Jung-Hyun | 28 May 1976 | 2 | 0 | Ulsan Hyundai |
Training session, January 2009 |
| Ha Dae-Sung | 2 March 1985 | 2 | 0 | Jeonbuk Hyundai |
2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Iran, 11 February 2009 |
| Han Tae-You | 31 March 1981 | 3 | 0 | FC Seoul |
Training session, March 2009 |
| Park Hyun-Beom | 7 May 1987 | 1 | 0 | Suwon Bluewings |
Friendly match v. Iraq, 28 March 2009 |
| Choi Tae-Uk | 13 March 1981 | 29 | 4 | Jeonbuk Hyundai |
Friendly match v. Oman, 3 June 20091 |
| Oh Jang-Eun | 24 July 1985 | 11 | 0 | Ulsan Hyundai |
Friendly match v. Paraguay, 12 August 2009 |
| Lee Seung-Hyun | 25 July 1985 | 1 | 0 | Busan I'Park |
Friendly match v. Australia, 5 September 2009 |
| Ko Yo-Han | 7 March 1988 | 1 | 0 | FC Seoul |
Friendly match v. Senegal, 14 October 2009 |
- Forwards
| Player | DoB/Age | Caps | Goals | Team | Most Recent Call up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seo Dong-Hyun | 5 June 1985 | 4 | 0 | Suwon Bluewings |
Training session, January 2009 |
| Jung Jo-Gook | 23 April 1984 | 12 | 4 | FC Seoul |
2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Iran, 11 February 2009 |
| Jeong Shung-Hoon | 4 July 1979 | 8 | 0 | Busan I'Park |
Friendly match v. Iraq, 28 March 2009 |
| Lee Sang-Ho | 9 May 1987 | 1 | 0 | Suwon Bluewings |
Friendly match v. Iraq, 28 March 2009 |
| Yoo Byung-Soo | 26 March 1988 | 0 | 0 | Incheon United |
Friendly match v. Oman, 3 June 20091 |
| Bae Ki-Jong | 26 May 1983 | 2 | 0 | Suwon Bluewings |
2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. UAE, 6 June 2009 |
| Yang Dong-Hyun | 28 March 1986 | 2 | 0 | Busan I'Park |
2010 FIFA World Cup qual. v. Saudi Arabia, 10 June 2009 |
| Cho Dong-Keon | 16 April 1986 | 1 | 0 | Seongnam Ilhwa |
Friendly match v. Paraguay, 12 August 2009 |
| Park Chu-Young | 10 July 1985 | 38 | 13 | AS Monaco |
Friendly match v. Senegal, 14 October 2009 |
^ This match was not recognized A-match by FIFA.
