South Korea at the FIFA World Cup

This is a record of South Korea's results at the FIFA World Cup. South Korea have appeared in the FIFA World Cup on ten occasions in 1954 and 1986 to 2018. Their best ever performance is a fourth place in the 2002 tournament co-hosted at home soil and at Japan. This made them the first ever team to end in fourth place in its own World Cup,S.Korea is also team outside the Europe vs Americas reaching top 4 of a World Cup as well.

Korea also advanced the round of 16 in World Cup 2010, Korea beat Germany to eliminate it in World Cup 2018.

Records

World Cup all-time record featuring South Korea

The South Koreans first time ever to reach the World Cup finals in 1954 was proved to be a crippled journey. Though with only two group matches back in those times, some of the records made by the South Koreans in 1954 are unbroken til now (2018).

Goalscoring and Goalkeeping

Fastest conceded goal from kickoff: 11 seconds, Hakan Şükür ( Turkey), vs South Korea, 2002

Most goals conceded, one tournament: 16, Hong Deok-young ( South Korea), 1954 (in 1954 two matches were played in group stage)

Largest negative goal difference, one tournament: −16, South Korea, 1954 (in 1954 two matches were played in group stage)

Upsets

Biggest upset of the top ranked team, per FIFA rankings: +56, South Korea (2018) ranked 57 – won 2–0 over Germany (ranked 1)

Streaks

Most consecutive matches conceding at least five / six / seven goals: 2, South Korea (1954) (seven goals); also United States (1930–1934) (six goals); also Austria (1954) (five goals)

Biggest margin of victory: 9, Hungary (9) vs South Korea (0), 1954; Yugoslavia (9) vs Zaire (0), 1974; Hungary (10) vs El Salvador (1), 1982

Largest goal difference improvement in consecutive matches^[1]: +10: Turkey (1954) – lost 1–4 to West Germany, then won 7–0 over South Korea; and West Germany (1954) – lost 3–8 to Hungary, then won 7–2 over Turkey

Largest goal difference worsening in consecutive matches: −12: Sweden (1938) – won 8–0 over Cuba, then lost 1–5 to Hungary; Turkey (1954) – won 7–0 over South Korea, then lost 2–7 to West Germany; Hungary (1982) – won 10–1 over El Salvador, then lost 1–4 to Argentina

Standings

FIFA World Cup Finals Record
Year	Result	Position	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1950	Did not enter
1954	Group stage	16th	2	0	0	2	0	16
1958	Preliminary competition entry denied^[2]
1962	Did not qualify
1966	Did not enter
1970	Did not qualify
1974
1978
1982
1986	Group stage	20th	3	0	1	2	4	7
1990		22nd	3	0	0	3	1	6
1994		20th	3	0	2	1	4	5
1998		30th	3	0	1	2	2	9
2002	Fourth place	4th	7	3	2	2	8	6
2006	Group stage	17th	3	1	1	1	3	4
2010	Round of 16	15th	4	1	1	2	6	8
2014	Group stage	27th	3	0	1	2	3	6
2018	Group stage	19th	3	1	0	2	3	3
2022	To be determined
Total	Fourth Place	10/21	34	6	9	19	34	70

South Korea's World Cup record
First Match	South Korea 0–9 Hungary (17 June 1954; Zurich, Switzerland)
Biggest Win	South Korea 2–0 Poland (4 June 2002; Busan, South Korea) South Korea 2–0 Greece (12 June 2010; Port Elizabeth, South Africa) South Korea 2–0 Germany (27 June 2018; Kazan, Russia)
Biggest Defeat	Hungary 9–0 South Korea (17 June 1954; Zurich, Switzerland)
Best Result	Fourth place in 2002
Worst Result	Group stage in 1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2014 and 2018

By match

Year	Round	Opponent	Score	Scorers	Record
1954	Group 2	Hungary	0–9		0–0–1
1954	Group 2	Turkey	0–7		0–0–2
1986	Group A	Argentina	1–3	Park C.-S.	0–0–3
		Bulgaria	1–1	Kim J.	0–1–3
		Italy	2–3	Choi S., Huh J.	0–1–4
1990	Group E	Belgium	0–2		0–1–5
		Spain	1–3	Hwangbo K.	0–1–6
		Uruguay	0–1		0–1–7
1994	Group C	Spain	2–2	Hong M., Seo J.	0–2–7
		Bolivia	0–0		0–3–7
		Germany	2–3	Hwang S., Hong M.	0–3–8
1998	Group E	Mexico	1–3	Ha S.	0–3–9
		Netherlands	0–5		0–3–10
		Belgium	1–1	Yoo S.	0–4–10
2002	Group D	Poland	2–0	Hwang S., Yoo S.	1–4–10
		United States	1–1	Ahn J.	1–5–10
		Portugal	1–0	Park J.	2–5–10
	Round of 16	Italy	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Seol K., Ahn J.	3–5–10
	Quarter-final	Spain	0–0 (a.e.t.)(5–3 p)		3–6–10
	Semi-final	Germany	0–1		3–6–11
	Third-place match	Turkey	2–3	Lee E., Song C.	3–6–12
2006	Group G	Togo	2–1	Lee C.-S., Ahn J.	4–6–12
		France	1–1	Park J.	4–7–12
		Switzerland	0–2		4–7–13
2010	Group B	Greece	2–0	Lee J., Park J.	5–7–13
		Argentina	1–4	Lee C.-Y.	5–7–14
		Nigeria	2–2	Lee J., Park C.-Y.	5–8–14
	Round of 16	Uruguay	1–2	Lee C.-Y.	5–8–15
2014	Group H	Russia	1–1	Lee K.	5–9–15
		Algeria	2–4	Son H., Koo J.	5–9–16
		Belgium	0–1		5–9–17
2018	Group F	Sweden	0–1		5–9–18
		Mexico	1–2	Son H.	5–9–19
		Germany	2–0	Kim Y., Son H.	6–9–19

By opponent

Country	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Confederation
Algeria	1	0	0	1	2	4	−2	CAF
Argentina	2	0	0	2	2	7	−5	CONMEBOL
Belgium	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	UEFA
Bolivia	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	CONMEBOL
Bulgaria	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	UEFA
France	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	UEFA
Germany	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	UEFA
Greece	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	UEFA
Hungary	1	0	0	1	0	9	−9	UEFA
Italy	2	1	0	1	4	4	0	UEFA
Mexico	2	0	0	2	2	5	−3	CONCACAF
Netherlands	1	0	0	1	0	5	−5	UEFA
Nigeria	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	CAF
Poland	1	1	0	0	2	0	+2	UEFA
Portugal	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	UEFA
Russia	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	UEFA
Spain	3	0	2	1	3	5	−2	UEFA
Sweden	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	UEFA
Switzerland	1	0	0	1	0	2	−2	UEFA
Togo	1	1	0	0	2	1	+1	CAF
Turkey	2	0	0	2	2	10	−8	UEFA
United States	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	CONCACAF
Uruguay	2	0	0	2	1	3	−2	CONMEBOL
Total	34	6	9	19	34	70	–36

Awards

South Korea is the only Asian team to ever win a team award at a FIFA World Cup when they were voted Most Entertaining Team in 2002 after finishing in fourth place.

In the same year, Hong Myung-bo and Yoo Sang-chul have been voted members of the MasterCard All Star Team. They are the only Asians ever to have been named in a FIFA World Cup All-Star Team over the years.

Top goalscorers

No.	Name	Goals	World Cups
1	Ahn Jung-hwan	3	2002 (2) and 2006 (1)
	Park Ji-sung	3	2002, 2006 and 2010
	Son Heung-min	3	2014 (1) and 2018 (2)
4	Hong Myung-bo	2	1994
	Hwang Sun-hong	2	1994 and 2002
	Yoo Sang-chul	2	1998 and 2002
	Lee Jung-soo	2	2010
	Lee Chung-yong	2	2010

Most caps

File:Hong Myung-Bo in 2009 from acrofan.jpg

Hong Myung-bo captained the South Korean team to Fourth Place in 2002.

No.	Name	Matches	World Cups
1	Hong Myung-bo	16	1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002
2	Park Ji-sung	14	2002, 2006 and 2010
3	Lee Young-pyo	12	2002, 2006 and 2010
4	Lee Woon-jae	11	1994, 2002 and 2006
4	Kim Nam-il	11	2002, 2006 and 2010
6	Hwang Sun-hong	10	1990, 1994 and 2002
	Kim Tae-young	10	1998 and 2002
	Yoo Sang-chul	10	1998 and 2002
	Lee Chun-soo	10	2002 and 2006
10	Kim Joo-sung	9	1986, 1990 and 1994
	Ahn Jung-hwan	9	2002 and 2006
	Choi Jin-cheul	9	2002 and 2006
	Seol Ki-hyeon	9	2002 and 2006
	Ki Sung-yueng	9	2010, 2014 and 2018

Switzerland 1954

Group 2

Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	Pts
Hungary	2	2	0	17	3	4
West Germany	2	1	1	7	9	2
Turkey	2	1	1	8	4	2
South Korea	2	0	2	0	16	0

All times local CET (UTC+1)

17 June 1954

18:00

Hungary	9–0	South Korea
Puskás 12', 89' Lantos 18' Kocsis 24', 36', 50' Czibor 59' Palotás 75', 83'	Report

Hardturm Stadium, Zürich

Attendance: 18,000

Referee: Raymond Vincenti (France)

20 June 1954

17:00

Turkey	7–0	South Korea
Suat 10', 30' Lefter 24' Burhan 37', 64', 70' Erol 76'	Report

Charmilles Stadium, Geneva

Attendance: 3,000

Referee: Esteban Marino (Uruguay)

Mexico 1986

Group A

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Argentina	3	2	1	0	6	2	+4	5
Italy	3	1	2	0	5	4	+1	4
Bulgaria	3	0	2	1	2	4	−2	2
South Korea	3	0	1	2	4	7	−3	1

All times local CST (UTC−5)

2 June 1986

12:00

Argentina	3–1	South Korea
Valdano 6', 46' Ruggeri 18'	(Report)	Park Chang-sun 73'

Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City

Attendance: 60,000

Referee: Victoriano Sánchez Arminio (Spain)

5 June 1986

16:00

South Korea	1–1	Bulgaria
Kim Jong-boo 70'	(Report)	Getov 11'

Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Mexico City

Attendance: 45,000

Referee: Fallaj Al Shanar (Saudi Arabia)

10 June 1986

12:00

South Korea	2–3	Italy
Choi Soon-ho 62' Huh Jung-moo 83'	(Report)	Altobelli 17', 73' Cho Kwang-rae 82' (o.g.)

Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: David Socha (United States)

Italy 1990

Group E

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Spain	3	2	1	0	5	2	+3	5
Belgium	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	4
Uruguay	3	1	1	1	2	3	−1	3
South Korea	3	0	0	3	1	6	−5	0

All times local CEST (UTC+2)

12 June 1990

17:00

Belgium	2–0	South Korea
Degryse 53' De Wolf 64'	Report

Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona

Attendance: 32,790

Referee: Vincent Mauro (United States)

17 June 1990

21:00

South Korea	1–3	Spain
Hwangbo Kwan 42'	Report	Míchel 22', 61', 81'

Stadio Friuli, Udine

Attendance: 32,733

Referee: Elías Jácome (Ecuador)

21 June 1990

17:00

South Korea	0–1	Uruguay
	Report	Fonseca 90'

Stadio Friuli, Udine

Attendance: 29,039

Referee: Tullio Lanese (Italy)

United States 1994

Group C

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Germany	3	2	1	0	5	3	+2	7
Spain	3	1	2	0	6	4	+2	5
South Korea	3	0	2	1	4	5	−1	2
Bolivia	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	1

17 June 1994

18:35 CDT (UTC–5)

Spain	2–2	South Korea
Salinas 51' Goikoetxea 55'	Report	Hong Myung-bo 85' Seo Jung-won 90'

Cotton Bowl, Dallas

Attendance: 56,247

Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)

23 June 1994

19:35 EDT (UTC–4)

South Korea	0–0	Bolivia
	Report

Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough

Attendance: 54,453

Referee: Leslie Mottram (Scotland)

27 June 1994

15:05 CDT (UTC–5)

Germany	3–2	South Korea
Klinsmann 12', 37' Riedle 20'	Report	Hwang Sun-hong 52' Hong Myung-bo 63'

Cotton Bowl, Dallas

Attendance: 63,998

Referee: Joël Quiniou (France)

France 1998

Group E

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Netherlands	3	1	2	0	7	2	+5	5
Mexico	3	1	2	0	7	5	+2	5
Belgium	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3
South Korea	3	0	1	2	2	9	−7	1

All times local CEST (UTC+2)

13 June 1998

17:30

South Korea	1–3	Mexico
Ha Seok-ju 28'	(Report)	Peláez 51' Hernández 74', 84'

Stade Gerland, Lyon

Attendance: 39,133

Referee: Günter Benkö (Austria)

20 June 1998

21:00

Netherlands	5–0	South Korea
Cocu 38' Overmars 42' Bergkamp 71' van Hooijdonk 80' R. de Boer 83'	(Report)

Stade Vélodrome, Marseille

Attendance: 55,000

Referee: Ryszard Wójcik (Poland)

25 June 1998

16:00

Belgium	1–1	South Korea
Nilis 7'	(Report)	Yoo Sang-chul 71'

Parc des Princes, Paris

Attendance: 45,500

Referee: Márcio Rezende de Freitas (Brazil)

Korea/Japan 2002

Group D

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
South Korea	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7
United States	3	1	1	1	5	6	−1	4
Portugal	3	1	0	2	6	4	+2	3
Poland	3	1	0	2	3	7	−4	3

All times local KST (UTC+9)

4 June 2002

20:30

South Korea	2–0	Poland
Hwang Sun-hong 26' Yoo Sang-chul 53'	(Report)

Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Busan

Attendance: 48,760

Referee: Oscar Ruíz (Colombia)

10 June 2002

15:30

South Korea	1–1	United States
Ahn Jung-hwan 78'	(Report)	Mathis 24'

Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu

Attendance: 60,778

Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland)

14 June 2002

20:30

Portugal	0–1	South Korea
	(Report)	Park Ji-sung 70'

Incheon Munhak Stadium, Incheon

Attendance: 50,239

Referee: Ángel Sánchez (Argentina)

Knockout Stage

Round of 16

18 June 2002

20:30

South Korea	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Italy
Seol Ki-hyeon 88' Ahn Jung-hwan 117'	Report	Vieri 18'

Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Daejeon

Attendance: 38,588

Referee: Byron Moreno (Ecuador)

Quarter-finals

22 June 2002

15:30

Spain	0–0 (a.e.t.)	South Korea
	Report
Penalties
Hierro Baraja Xavi Joaquín	3–5	Hwang Sun-hong Park Ji-sung Seol Ki-hyeon Ahn Jung-hwan Hong Myung-bo

Gwangju World Cup Stadium, Gwangju

Attendance: 42,114

Referee: Gamal Al-Ghandour (Egypt)

Semi-finals

25 June 2002

20:30

Germany	1–0	South Korea
Ballack 75'	Report

Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul

Attendance: 65,256

Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland)

Third place

29 June 2002

20:00

South Korea	2–3	Turkey
Lee Eul-yong 9' Song Chong-gug 90+3'	Report	Hakan Şükür 1' İlhan 13', 32'

Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu

Attendance: 63,483

Referee: Saad Mane (Kuwait)

Germany 2006

Group G

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Switzerland	3	2	1	0	4	0	+4	7
France	3	1	2	0	3	1	+2	5
South Korea	3	1	1	1	3	4	−1	4
Togo	3	0	0	3	1	6	−5	0

All times local CEST (UTC+2)

13 June 2006

15:00

South Korea	2–1	Togo
Lee Chun-soo 54' Ahn Jung-hwan 72'	(Report)	Kader 31'

FIFA WM Stadion Frankfurt, Frankfurt

Attendance: 48,000

Referee: Graham Poll (England)

18 June 2006

21:00

France	1–1	South Korea
Henry 9'	(Report)	Park Ji-sung 81'

Zentralstadion, Leipzig

Attendance: 43,000

Referee: Benito Archundia (Mexico)

23 June 2006

21:00

Switzerland	2–0	South Korea
Senderos 23' Frei 77'	(Report)

FIFA WM Stadion Hannover, Hanover

Attendance: 43,000

Referee: Horacio Elizondo (Argentina)

South Africa 2010

Group B

Template:2010 FIFA World Cup Group B All times local SAST (UTC+02)

12 June 2010

13:30

South Korea	2–0	Greece
Lee Jung-soo 7' Park Ji-sung 52'	Report

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Attendance: 31,513

Referee: Michael Hester (New Zealand)^[3]

17 June 2010

13:30

Argentina	4–1	South Korea
Park Chu-young 17' (o.g.) Higuaín 33', 76', 80'	Report	Lee Chung-yong 45+1'

Soccer City, Johannesburg

Attendance: 82,174

Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)^[4]

22 June 2010

20:30

Nigeria	2–2	South Korea
Uche 12' Yakubu 69' (pen.)	Report	Lee Jung-soo 38' Park Chu-young 49'

Durban Stadium, Durban

Attendance: 61,874

Referee: Olegário Benquerença (Portugal)

Knockout Stage

Round of 16

26 June 2010

16:00

Uruguay	2–1	South Korea
Suárez 8', 80'	Report	Lee Chung-yong 68'

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

Attendance: 30,597

Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)

Brazil 2014

Group H

Template:2014 FIFA World Cup Group H table

17 June 2014

18:00 BRT–1 (UTC−4)

Russia	1–1	South Korea
Kerzhakov 74'	Report	Lee Keun-ho 68'

Arena Pantanal, Cuiabá

Attendance: 37,603

Referee: Néstor Pitana (Argentina)

22 June 2014

16:00 BRT (UTC−3)

South Korea	2–4	Algeria
Son Heung-min 50' Koo Ja-cheol 72'	Report	Slimani 26' Halliche 28' Djabou 38' Brahimi 62'

Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre

Attendance: 42,732

Referee: Wilmar Roldán (Colombia)

26 June 2014

17:00 BRT (UTC−3)

South Korea	0–1	Belgium
	Report	Vertonghen 78'

Arena Corinthians, São Paulo

Attendance: 61,397

Referee: Ben Williams (Australia)

Russia 2018

Group F

Template:2018 FIFA World Cup Group F table

References

^ Matches within one tournament. Otherwise, Hungary had a +11 swing between 2–4 v Italy in 1938 and 9–0 v South Korea in 1954; and again between 1–3 v France in 1978 and 10–1 v El Salvador in 1982; and likewise Germany between 0–3 v Croatia in 1998 and 8–0 v Saudi Arabia in 2002.
^ "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
^ "Referee designations for matches 1–16" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
^ "Referee designations for matches 17–24" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.

External links

[1] Matches within one tournament. Otherwise, Hungary had a +11 swing between 2–4 v Italy in 1938 and 9–0 v South Korea in 1954; and again between 1–3 v France in 1978 and 10–1 v El Salvador in 1982; and likewise Germany between 0–3 v Croatia in 1998 and 8–0 v Saudi Arabia in 2002.

[2] "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 2011-11-17.

[referees_1-16-3] "Referee designations for matches 1–16" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 June 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.

[referees_17-24-4] "Referee designations for matches 17–24" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2010.

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[4]

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