South Korea defeats Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 in pre-World Cup friendly

With all that is going on these days, most of the 48 nations competing at the World Cup could do with some good news. On Friday at lunchtime, Korea’s soccer team has the chance to help millions of meals back home go down smoothly. The Taegeuk Warriors take on the Czech Republic in Group A, which also contains co-host Mexico and South Africa. A win would put coach Hong Myung-bo and his men in sight of the knockout stages for only the fourth time, after reaching it in 2002, 2010 and 2022. Defeat — well, it is best not to think about that. Preparations seem to have been as good as they could be. The team arrived in the United States three weeks ago before moving to Mexico. Guadalajara sits at around 1,600 meters above sea level, and the thinner air with its relative lack of oxygen can be an issue for players, especially late in games as they start to tire. Korea has been training at that height for three weeks, and it should no longer be a problem. At No. 25, Korea is ranked 16 places above their opponent. The Czechs actually lost to the Faroe Islands in qualification, but squeezed in

With precious little time left to train before his team's first match at this year's FIFA World Cup, Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo said Saturday he will try to mold his squad into a more complete unit. Korea had their first training session in Mexico, where they will play all three Group A matches, on Saturday. It was a "Community Training Session" organized by FIFA, with hundreds of fans gathered at Chivas Verde Valle in Zapopan, near Guadalajara. The Taegeuk Warriors arrived in Mexico on Friday after undergoing about three weeks of altitude training in the U.S. state of Utah and playing two friendly matches there. They will open the World Cup on Thursday at Estadio Guadalajara against Czechia, better known as the Czech Republic. The opening training session Saturday was not an intense one, and the real work will begin Sunday. "After playing two matches, we analyzed our strengths and weaknesses," Hong said at a press conference held at the training facility. "The key is to polish up our strategies over the remaining days. And since weather conditions here are different than in Utah, we

Two of Korea's opponents in the group stage at the FIFA World Cup have both won their final tuneup matches. Czechia, whom Korea will face to begin Group A action next week, defeated Guatemala 3-1 at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, on Thursday (local time). Patrik Schick, Tomas Chory and Denis Visinsky were the goal scorers for Czechia, who sit 16 spots below Korea in the FIFA rankings at No. 41. Czechia had earlier beat Kosovo 2-1 on Sunday. Schick scored off a counter break for Czechia in the 11th minute. William Fajardo netted the equalizer for Guatemala in the 40th minute, but then Chory's header in the 72nd minute put the Czechs ahead for good. Visinsky's 79th-minute marker rounded out the scoring. Korea also won their final two friendlies before the World Cup, beating Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 and then El Salvador 1-0. Their match against Czechia will kick off at 8 p.m. next Thursday (local time) at Estadio Guadalajara in Guadalajara, Mexico, or 11 a.m. next Friday (Korean time). Also on Thursday, Mexico, one of the tournament's three co-host countries and the top-ran

Only days after enjoying a goal fest, Korea were mostly held in check by the pressing defense of underdogs El Salvador in their final friendly match before next week's FIFA World Cup. Lee Dong-gyeong's free kick goal in the 57th minute was the difference in Korea's 1-0 victory Wednesday at BYU South Field in Provo, Utah. Aside from the set-piece goal, Korea didn't generate many dangerous looks — against a team sitting 75 spots lower in the FIFA rankings at No. 100. They didn't look like the same team that trounced Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 on Saturday, although, as coaches across many sports like to claim, opponents have a say in these things. El Salvador pressed harder and presented more of a physical challenge than Trinidad and Tobago. They applied particularly hard pressure on Korea's two key midfielders, Hwang In-beom and Lee Jae-sung, whose vision and passing skills often create scoring chances. Starting forward Cho Gue-sung, who had a size advantage over El Salvador defenders and thus would have been a threat to score headers, barely received any passes in the box. Korea's 72 perc

PROVO, United States — After South Korea escaped with a narrow win over an opponent they were supposed to dominate, head coach Hong Myung-bo said he chose to look on the brighter side. South Korea beat El Salvador 1-0 in their final friendly before the FIFA World Cup at BYU South Field in Provo, Utah, on Wednesday. Lee Dong-gyeong's free kick marker in the 57th minute was the only goal for South Korea, who came in ranked 25th in the world, 75 spots ahead of El Salvador. More offense was expected from the Taegeuk Warriors after they pounded 102nd-ranked Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday, but Hong said not all was lost from the one-goal victory. "We had some difficulties offensively early in the match, but I think this match will be of huge help for us," Hong said at his postmatch press conference. "Czechia play a similar style," he said, referring to South Korea's first World Cup opponent. "And I think our players must have learned a great deal today by playing this type of team. We have to bear down on generating more opportunities." The victory wrapped up South Korea's training camp in U

PROVO, United States — South Korea edged out El Salvador 1-0 on Wednesday in their final friendly match before the upcoming FIFA World Cup, as they enter the big tournament on the heels of two straight victories. Midfielder Lee Dong-gyeong curled home a free kick in the 57th minute of the match at BYU South Field in Provo, Utah, for South Korea's only goal of the match. South Korea previously beat Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 on Saturday. The Taegeuk Warriors will now travel to Guadalajara, Mexico, to set up their World Cup base camp. South Korea will play all three of their Group A matches in Mexico — two in Guadalajara and one in Monterrey. Their first match will be against Czechia at 8 p.m. June 11 (local time) at Estadio Guadalajara, or 11 a.m. June 12 (South Korean time). Head coach Hong Myung-bo made whole changes to his starting lineup from the one that began the Trinidad and Tobago match, as eight new faces took the field. Defenders Lee Gi-hyuk and Lee Han-beom, and winger Lee Dong-gyeong were the only three players to make consecutive starts. Those new players, though, were sloppy