Korea Republic men’s national team came away with both substance and style on the road against China PR.

Jürgen Klinsmann’s charges defeated China 3-0 at the Universiade Sports Centre in Shenzhen, Guangdong on Tuesday, as Son Heungmin netted a brace and Jung Seunghyun scored his first international goal in their second Group C match in the second round of the Asian Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Having already defeated Singapore 5-0 last week, Korea Republic claimed their second win in as many games in Group C, to extend their winning streak to five matches and record their sixth straight clean sheet. Their head-to-head results against China have become 22 wins, 13 draws and two defeats.

Korea Republic have rounded off this year’s A-match calendar with a victory, and are set to prepare for the finals of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup that will take place in Qatar in January. The Taegeuk Warriors are pitted against Malaysia, Jordan and Bahrain in Group E. The continental finals are held across eight stadiums around Doha and Al Rayyan from 12 January to 10 February.

Klinsmann made two changes to the side that had faced Singapore last week, with midfielder Park Yongwoo and fullback Kim Taehwan replacing Lee Jaesung and Seol Youngwoo respectively.

Cho Guesung started as a lone striker, with Son Heungmin operating as an attacking midfielder; Hwang Heechan, Hwang Inbeom, Park Yongwoo and Lee Kangin in midfield; Lee Kije, Kim Minjae, Jung Seunghyun and Kim Taehwan at the back; and Kim Seunggyu between the posts.

Son Heungmin was the protagonist of the first half, as Korea Republic drew first blood with the captain’s spot-kick after 11 minutes. Hwang Heechan earned a penalty after opening exchanges, and Son stepped up to convert the resulting penalty to score his 40th international goal and put his name on the score sheet for the third time in as many games.

His second goal on the stroke of half time was converted from a corner by in-form Lee Kangin, who sent an in-swinging corner with his left foot for Son to head home from the near post.

The visitors did not rest on the two-goal cushion as they kept up the pressure against China. On 54 minutes, Son put Lee Kangin through on goal with only the keeper to beat. Lee then broke into the right side of the area to slot the ball into an empty net, only to see his effort denied by a last-ditch tackle from Zhu Chenjie.

Klinsmann reshuffled his side with a triple substitution midway through the second half. The hosts fought back to counter whilst the substitutes were settling in, but they still struggled to find a breakthrough against the stubborn rearguard orchestrated by Kim Minjae.

After absorbing waves of counterattacks, Korea Republic extended their lead through centre-back Jung Seunghyun who headed home from a Son free-kick to score his first goal for his country and round off the victory. Park Jinseob, who had joined the national team as a last-minute replacement for injured Hong Hyunseok, came off the bench in the closing minutes to make his senior debut for Korea Republic.

Meanwhile, the second round of qualifying for the world finals will resume in March next year, when Korea Republic will take on Thailand at home and then on the road against the same opposition. The Taegeuk Warriors will then travel to Singapore and return home to face China PR to round off the second round in June.

With the number of participating teams in the 2026 FIFA World Cup increasing to 48 countries, 8.5 tickets have been allocated to Asia this time around. The Asian Qualifiers are held across the continent over the course of four rounds.

A total of 36 teams are taking part in the second round, where they are divided into nine groups of four teams with top two teams from each group advancing to the third round. The 18 teams in the third round will be divided into three group of six teams, with top two teams in each group securing passages to the world finals and the rest of six teams reaching the fourth round.

The six teams in the fourth round are divided into two groups of three teams, with the group winners qualifying for the finals and the runners-up advancing to intercontinental playoffs.

Asian Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Second Round

Group C

China PR 0-3 Korea Republic

Goals: Son Heungmin 11’(pen), 45’, Jung Seunghyun 87’

KOR: Kim Seunggyu, Lee Kije, Kim Minjae, Jung Seunghyun, Kim Taehwan (Seol Youngwoo 72’), Hwang Heechan (Lee Jaesung 72’), Hwang Inbeom, Park Yongwoo (Park Jinseob 90’), Lee Kangin (Jeong Wooyeong 83’), Cho Guesung (Hwang Uijo 72’), Son Heungmin