Korean players celebrate a goal by Son Heung-min, second from left, against Singapore during the teams' Group C match in the second round of the Asian World Cup qualification tournament at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul, Nov. 16. Yonhap
Fresh off a comfortable win over Singapore to kick off their World Cup qualifying campaign, Korea will look to grab their second straight victory over China away from home this week.
Korea, world No. 24, will face 79th-ranked China at Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre in Shenzhen, China, on Tuesday. The kickoff is 8 p.m. local time, or 9 p.m. in Seoul.
It will be the second Group C matches for both nations in the second round of the Asian qualification tournament for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
They each won their opening matches, with Korea beating Singapore 5-0 and China getting past Thailand 2-1 last Thursday.
Korea have scored at least four goals in three consecutive matches for the first time since 2000, having earlier defeated Tunisia 4-0 and Vietnam 6-0 in friendlies in October.
The likes of captain Son Heung-min and playmaking midfielder Lee Kang-in have been able to find enough space to thread passes and fire shots in the face of tight opposing defenses. Vietnam and Singapore, in particular, parked the bus in their own zone and tried to outnumber Korean attackers in their own box. But highly skilled Korean players still put up multiple goals on the board, something the Taegeuk Warriors had struggled to do in the past.
Korea have 22 wins, 12 draws and two losses against China. The last defeat came in March 2017 during the qualification tournament for the 2018 World Cup.
Head coach Jurgen Klinsmann will once again look to his talented attacking corps to carry the day. Lee, midfielder for Paris Saint-Germain, has scored four goals in the past three international matches, while also flashing his passing skills to set up goals and create dangerous opportunities. Son has scored in back-to-back matches. With 39 career goals, Son is No. 3 on the all-time goals list for Korea, 11 behind No. 2 Hwang Sun-hong.
After the Singapore match, Son said Korea would have to be wary of China's physical play.
"I think Asian teams will try to be physical against us, and getting under our skin will perhaps be a part of their strategy," Son said. "But we just have to make sure we don't get dragged into that kind of thing and stick to our own game plan." (Yonhap)
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