Ex-S Korean captain Koo Ja-cheol to be reunited with K League's Jeju

After spending more than a decade overseas, South Korean midfielder Koo Ja-cheol is coming home. Jeju United of the K League 1 said Wednesday that Koo, 32, has agreed to rejoin the team where he made his professional debut in 2007. Further details of the contract will be hammered out once Koo arrives in South Korea Thursday, the club added. Koo played for Jeju from 2007 to 2010, netting eight goals and picking up 19 assists in 88 matches. He then launched his international club career with VfL W

Feb. 23, 2022

FC Seoul sign forward Cho Young-wook to 2-year extension

The South Korean football club FC Seoul announced Wednesday they have signed forward Cho Young-wook to a two-year contract extension. Cho, 23, made his K League 1 debut with his hometown club in 2018, and the extension will keep him in the nation's capital through 2024. In 107 career matches, Cho has netted 18 goals and five assists. He scored a career-high eight goals in 2021, and became the youngest K League 1 player to reach the 100-game mark. For September 2021, Cho became the youngest-

Feb. 23, 2022

Tottenham's Son Heung-min scores after monthlong injury

Tottenham Hotspurs' Son Heung-min has scored his ninth goal of the Premier League season after returning from a monthlong injury but could not prevent his team from losing two matches in a row. Son netted his ninth goal in the league -- 10th in all competitions for the 2021-22 season -- in Tottenham's 3-2 defeat against Southampton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Thursday (Korean time). Thanks to the goal, Son marked double-digit figures for goals for the sixth straight season. And it

Feb. 10, 2022

S. Korea to face China in Women's Asian Cup final

The last hurdle for South Korea to clear in the top Asian women's football tournament will be China. South Korea booked a spot in the final of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Asian Cup on Thursday by beating the Philippines 2-0 in the semifinals in India. Later that night, China set up a date with South Korea by edging out Japan 4-3 in a penalty shootout. The final will be Sunday at DV Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, kicking off at 4:30 p.m. local time or 8 p.m. in Seoul. South K

Feb. 4, 2022

S. Korea reach Women's Asian Cup final for 1st time

South Korea defeated the Philippines 2-0 on Thursday to reach the final of the top Asian women's football tournament for the first time. Cho So-hyun and Son Hwa-yeon had a goal apiece to help South Korea knock off the Philippines in the semifinals of the Asian Football Confederation Women's Asian Cup in India. South Korea will face the winner of the other semifinal match scheduled for Thursday, between China and the two-time defending champions Japan. South Korea have yet to win the AFC title

Feb. 3, 2022

World Cup-bound S. Korea overcome shaky moments, make adjustments in momentous win

They say all is well that ends well, and South Korea ultimately got the job done by defeating Syria in Dubai on Tuesday to clinch an early World Cup spot. But the process left much to be desired, as South Korea caught some lucky breaks en route to a 2-0 win in their latest match of the final Asian World Cup qualifying round. The victory in Dubai has sent South Korea to their 10th consecutive World Cup. South Korea coach Paulo Bento tweaked his starting lineup from the one that produced a 1-0 v

Feb. 2, 2022

S. Korea coach not letting up after early qualification for FIFA World Cup

With two matches remaining in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, South Korea have already claimed a ticket to Qatar for the big tournament. They blanked Syria 2-0 in their latest Group A match at Rashid Stadium in Dubai on Tuesday, and guaranteed themselves one of two automatic berths out of the group, alongside Iran. Iran lead South Korea 22-20 in points, and they will play each other on March 24 in South Korea. With the top seed in the group still up for grabs, Sou

Feb. 2, 2022

S. Korea qualify for 2022 FIFA World Cup

South Korea have clinched an early berth for the 2022 FIFA World Cup with their latest victory in the ongoing qualification phase. Kim Jin-su and Kwon Chang-hoon had a goal apiece to push South Korea past Syria 2-0 in Group A action in Dubai on Tuesday (local time) in the final Asian qualifying round for the World Cup. The match took place at Rashid Stadium in Dubai as the neutral venue, with the war-torn Syria unable to host matches. The victory assured South Korea of at least the second seed

Feb. 2, 2022

Minus key players, S. Korea looking to book World Cup spot vs. Lebanon

With or without their captain and best player, South Korea will try to extend their World Cup appearance streak to 10 with a win over Lebanon when the final Asian qualification round resumes this week. South Korea will travel to Sidon for their Group A match against Lebanon at Saida Municipal Stadium on Thursday. The kickoff is at 2 p.m. local time, or 9 p.m. in South Korea. With six out of 10 matches in the books in the ongoing round, South Korea are in second place in Group A with 14 points,

Jan. 25, 2022

Veteran nat'l team striker welcomes competition from younger teammates

Since Paulo Bento took over as head coach of the South Korean men's national football team in August 2018, no Korean player has scored more goals than Hwang Ui-jo's 13. After years of relative anonymity, the 29-year-old forward for FC Girondins de Bordeaux has emerged as the go-to striker for Bento, the safety valve that can find the back of the net in desperate moments. And as South Korea prepare to resume their World Cup qualifying bid this week, Hwang may finally have some worthy opponents i

Jan. 25, 2022

Men's nat'l football coach demands more from players after resounding friendly win

With one friendly match down and one more to go before South Korea's World Cup qualifying campaign resumes this month, head coach Paulo Bento wants to keep pushing his players. "The goal is to compete as well as possible and improve on what we did in the last game," Bento said in an interview clip released by the Korea Football Association (KFA) on Thursday, the eve of South Korea's tuneup contest against Moldova in Antalya, Turkey. Bento has been running training camp with the natio

Jan. 20, 2022

Veteran forward wants to return favor to coach, help new club to K League title

Nearly a decade after winning a historic Olympic football medal together in London, veteran forward Park Chu-young and longtime coach Hong Myung-bo have been reunited on the perennial K League contender, Ulsan Hyundai FC. After Park left FC Seoul, the only K League club he'd ever played for, in December, Hong and Ulsan reached out and signed him on Sunday. Park, a 36-year-old forward who didn't score in 17 matches in 2021, suddenly had a lifeline to continue his playing career. He'd turned down

Jan. 19, 2022

S. Korea to face Moldova in tuneup for World Cup qualifiers as roster crunch looms

South Korea will take on Moldova on Friday in their final men's football friendly match before their World Cup qualifying campaign resumes, with domestic league players getting their last shot to stake their claim for roster spots. The second-ever meeting between the two countries will kick off at Mardan Sports Complex in Antalya, Turkey, at 2 p.m. local time, or 8 p.m. in South Korea. It will be the last tuneup match for South Korea before they face Lebanon on Jan. 27 in the final Asian quali

Jan. 19, 2022

Blown call aside, S. Korean forward trying to become complete player

South Korean forward Kim Gun-hee thought he had his first senior international goal last Saturday against Iceland, only to have the marker wiped off by a questionable offside call. There was no video assistant referee (VAR) in the friendly match at Mardan Sports Complex in Antalya, Turkey, and the game continued without a review. Television replays showed, however, that it was a borderline call at best that could have gone Kim's way. Kim was playing in his first match for South Korea as a seco

Jan. 19, 2022

Well-traveled football defender constantly searching for improvement

Nearly a decade into his club football career, South Korean defender Kwon Kyung-won recently joined his sixth club in the fourth different country. There is more to this than wanderlust for the 29-year-old, who signed with Gamba Osaka of Japan on New Year's Day after stints in South Korea, Saudi Arabia and China. Kwon wants to challenge himself in different circumstances in his never-ending search for improvement. "I wanted to play in as many countries as I can," Kwon said in an inte

Jan. 18, 2022

Ex-Barca youth player thriving with extended opportunity in K League

After an ultimately unsuccessful stint in Europe, former FC Barcelona youth player Paik Seung-ho has been penning a much better chapter of his career at home. His success with the K League 1 champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors has also led to multiple callups to the senior men's national team. And Paik says there is no secret to his midcareer turnaround. "I have gotten better because I have been playing more," Paik said in an interview clip provided by the Korea Football Association (KF

Jan. 14, 2022

Nat'l football coach holding out hope for return of injured stars Son, Hwang

With South Korea's World Cup qualifying campaign scheduled to resume later this month, the team's head coach Paulo Bento hasn't abandoned hope of having two of his most important players back from injuries. South Korea's only two active Premier League players, Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur and Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers, have both been sidelined. Son, who picked up a leg muscle injury, will likely miss the rest of January. Hwang, who suffered a hamstring injury in mid-Decemb

Jan. 14, 2022

K Leaguers to vie for inclusion for World Cup qualifiers in friendly vs. Iceland

With South Korea on the verge of reaching the 2022 FIFA World Cup, players from the domestic league will have a couple of cracks this month at stating their case for inclusion on the national team for upcoming qualifying matches. The first will come in the form of a friendly match against Iceland in Antalya, Turkey, on Saturday. The kickoff at Mardan Sports Complex is 2 p.m. local time, or 8 p.m. in Seoul. This will be the first meeting between the 33rd-ranked South Korea and 62nd-ranked Icelan

Jan. 14, 2022

Pro football season set for earliest start to accommodate World Cup

The South Korean professional football will have its earliest start to a season in 2022 to accommodate participation in the FIFA World Cup in November, the league office announced Thursday. The 2022 K League 1 season will kick off Feb. 19, the fastest opening to a season by eight days. The 2010 and 2021 campaigns both began Feb. 27. The dozen teams in the top flight will play 38 matches. They will first play each other three times and after 33 contests, the top six and the bottom six clubs wil

Jan. 13, 2022

FC Seoul coach appreciative of hard-working veterans

With FC Seoul having gone through a topsy-turvy 2021 season that included a coaching change, new bench boss An Ik-soo decided to give some of his veterans extra rest before the starting of offseason training camp. Conspicuous by their absences at FC Seoul's camp in Namhae, some 500 kilometers south of the capital city, are some of the club's most recognizable names: midfielders Ki Sung-yueng and Go Yohan, and forward Ji Dong-won. "They endured so much more than I did last year, and I want

Jan. 13, 2022