The Taeguk Warriors are the first country outside Europe and South America to reach 10 consecutive World Cup finals. In fact, there are only four other countries who have qualified for the past 10 tournaments and they are Brazil, Germany, Argentina and Spain.
South Korea are naturally happy to be in such an exalted company and were looking forward to showcasing their talent in Qatar but then, on 1 November, disaster struck. The one player who could not get injured, Son Heung-min, collided with Marseille’s Chancel Mbemba in Tottenham’s last Champions League group-stage match. The next day it was confirmed that the 30-year-old had a fractured eye socket.
Terrible news for the player, the country and the coach, Paulo Bento, who had worked on ways to get the most out of Son at the World Cup. Thankfully for South Korea Son has since declared himself fit so Bento will not have to rethink his whole system, which was a 4-1-4-1 during the qualifiers. It was a formation that worked well on the journey to Qatar, with the 2-0 win against Iran the highlight, but it proved insufficient in games against stronger nations such as Brazil, Mexico and even Japan. The group opponents in Qatar? Portugal, Uruguay and Ghana.
Son’s injury is not the only problem Bento has on his mind as the tournament approaches with several key players out of form, such as Hwang Hee-chan of Wolves, Hwang Ui-jo of Olympiakos and Kwon Chang-hoon of Gimcheon Sangmu. To be fair, they have been playing poorly for some time now and it may open the door for some of the squad’s younger players in Qatar.
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Team record
South Korea
<!–
Previous best
Fourth place (2002)
–>
Previous tournaments
W Winners
F Final
SF Semi-final
QF Quarter-final
16 Round of 16
GS Group stage
NQ Did not qualify
<!–
–>
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Unlike in some countries this has not been a topic in South Korea and has not been discussed by players or the media. The players are just focused on the football and whether Son will be fit enough to take part. In fact, it is rare for players to speak out on political issues in South Korea. One exception was Park Jong-woo, who held up a sign saying “Dokdo is our territory” after a win over Japan at the 2012 Olympics, referring to a set of islands claimed by both countries. He was not given his bronze medal because of the message.
We call it Aegukga, which means the song of loving our nation. Initially, the Aegukga was sung to the tune of the Scottish folk song Auld Lang Syne but while studying abroad the Korean composer Ahn Eak-tai felt that a foreign melody was unfitting for Korea’s national anthem. So in 1935, he composed the Symphonic Fantasy Korea, the finale of which became the current music for the anthem. Whenever people sing Aegukga – which has been performed through good and bad times for almost a century now – they are reminded of the love that their forefathers held for the nation.