S. Korea fall to Morocco at Women's World Cup, knockout hopes hang in balance

ADELAIDE, Australia -- South Korea lost to Morocco 1-0 for their second straight defeat at the FIFA Women's World Cup on Sunday, leaving their knockout hopes hanging by a thread. Ibtissam Jraidi scored the match's lone goal in the sixth minute in the teams' second Group H match at Hindmarsh Stadium in Adelaide, southern Australia, giving Morocco their first Women's World Cup goal and also their first win. South Korea will close out group play in a must-win match against world

July 30, 2023

Tuchel hails 'very complete' Kim Min-jae

TOKYO -- Thomas Tuchel praised new Bayern Munich signing Kim Min-jae as "very complete" on Tuesday, but said he is likely to sit out the German champions' first match of a pre-season tour of Japan. The South Korean joined Bayern last week, after winning Serie A last season with Napoli. "He played an outstanding season in Italy and in the Champions League," his new coach told reporters in Tokyo. "He was very reliable, very strong defence, good build-up play. Very com

July 25, 2023

Adidas rolls out limited edition Son Heung-min football cleats

Adidas launched limited edition soccer cleats dedicated to Tottenham’s Son Heung-min on Tuesday, to commemorate 15 years of sponsorship. The Son Heung-min edition, called the HMS Pack, is available at the official online stores, the Adidas flagship store in Myeong-dong, Gangnam Brand Center, Hongdae Brand Center and soccer gear stores. The HMS Pack comes in three models. The laceless FG model is priced at 319,000 won ($252), TF models for male adults at 129,000 won, and TF J models for wom

July 19, 2023

S. Korean defender Kim Min-jae joins German champions Bayern Munich

South Korean defender Kim Min-jae has joined German football giants Bayern Munich, a move that ends weeks of speculation on the next destination for the gifted center-back. Bayern Munich announced Tuesday that they have signed Kim away from Serie A champions Napoli to a five-year contract. Kim will wear No. 3. Bayern Munich will be Kim's fourth club in four seasons. After ending a three-year stint with Beijing Guoan in 2021, Kim moved to Turkiye to play for Fenerbahce in the 2021-2022 seaso

July 19, 2023

Defender dropped from Asiad men's football team over past DUI conviction

Under mounting criticism, the South Korean football governing body decided on Tuesday to drop defender Lee Sang-min from the men's Asian Games squad over his past drunk driving conviction. The Korea Football Association acknowledged and apologized for its oversight in selecting Lee in the first place last Friday against its own set of rules. Lee was arrested after driving under the influence of alcohol in May 2020 while playing for Chungnam Asan in the second-tier K League 2. Three months l

July 18, 2023

Ulsan's rare losing skid gives K League rivals glimmer of hope

For the first time in nearly three years, Ulsan Hyundai FC have lost back-to-back matches in the K League 1. That has given rivals of the league-leading club a glimmer of hope. Ulsan suffered a 3-1 loss to the last-place Suwon Samsung Bluewings on Saturday, three days after falling to Incheon United 2-1. This is Ulsan's first losing streak since October 2020. Through Sunday's play, Ulsan remained atop the league tables with 53 points on 17 wins, two draws and four losses. Pohang Steele

July 17, 2023

Montenegrin striker Mugosa rejoins Incheon United after 1 season in Japan

Montenegrin striker Stefan Mugosa has reunited with the South Korean club Incheon United, following one unsuccessful year in Japan. Incheon announced late Monday that Mugosa had agreed to a new deal that will keep him in the K League 1 until 2025, after he terminated his previous deal with the Japanese club Vissel Kobe. The club livestreamed Mugosa's arrival at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on its YouTube channel Monday evening, showing Mugosa taking off his polo shirt to re

July 11, 2023

S. Korean team heads to Australia for Women's World Cup

South Korea embarked on a journey to Australia on Monday to prepare for the FIFA Women's World Cup, looking for their second trip to the knockout stage in their fourth appearance at the big event. Coached by Colin Bell, 17th-ranked South Korea will play out of Group H. Their first match is July 25 against No. 25 Colombia, followed by No. 72 Morocco on July 30 and then No. 2 Germany on Aug. 3. "Everyone on the team is looking forward to the World Cup," Bell told reporters at Incheo

July 10, 2023

French champions PSG, Lee Kang-in to play exhibition match in S. Korea

The French football champions Paris Saint-Germain, with South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in in tow, are set to play a summer exhibition match in Lee's native land next month, industry sources said Monday. PSG will take on K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on Aug. 3 in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the sources. South Korean streaming service Coupang Play will organize the match, which has been scheduled following PSG's acquisition of Lee over the weekend. C

July 10, 2023

Lee Kang-in signs with PSG; Kim Min-jae ‘nears deal’ with Bayern

South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in finalized a deal to play for Paris Saint-Germain through 2028, according to the French team’s website on Sunday, while his compatriot Kim Min-jae is reportedly inching to closing a deal with Bayern Munich. The 22-year-old Lee will become the first South Korean to officially don the PSG uniform in the coming season, after playing two seasons for Mallorca in the Spanish League. “It’s incredible to be able to join Paris Saint-Germain, it’s

July 9, 2023

Women's World Cup-bound half-Korean 'proud and honored'

As the first player of mixed heritage to be named to the South Korean women's senior national football team, Casey Phair said Wednesday she was "honored" with the opportunity to represent the country of her mother's birth. "I feel really proud and honored to be given this opportunity," she told reporters at the National Football Center in Paju, 40 kilometers northwest of Seoul, moments after head coach Colin Bell named her as one of 23 players for the FIFA Women

July 5, 2023

Half-Korean teenager Casey Phair named to S. Korean Women's World Cup team

Casey Phair, a half-Korean teenage forward, was named to the South Korean national football team for the upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup on Wednesday. At the National Football Center in Paju, some 40 kilometers northwest of Seoul, head coach Colin Bell unveiled his 23-player roster for the July 20-Aug. 20 tournament, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, along with two reserves. Phair, born to an American father and a Korean mother in the United States, is the first player of mixed descen

July 5, 2023

Celtic FC withdraw from S. Korean summer trip

The Scottish football champions Celtic FC have withdrawn from their planned summer trip to South Korea, citing the local promoter's failure to meet financial commitments. Celtic made the announcement on their website Tuesday. Featuring South Korean forward Oh Hyeon-gyu, Celtic had been scheduled to play the Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers, which employ another South Korean international, Hwang Hee-chan, later this month. However, Wolves first pulled out of the summer tour last T

July 5, 2023

Women's soccer legend wants to mark end of era with goal at World Cup

Preparing for the third and possibly her last FIFA Women's World Cup, veteran midfielder Ji So-yun said Monday she wants to mark the end of an era with a goal at the big event. Ji is the all-time leading scorer in South Korean football, male or female, with 66 goals, and is tied with teammate Cho So-hyun for the most caps by a Korean football player with 144. At 32, Ji could be playing at her final World Cup this summer in Australia. The same could be said of the vast majority of her teamma

July 3, 2023

AS Roma’s summer trip to S. Korea canceled

A summer exhibition tour by the Italian football club AS Roma has been canceled. Stadium X, the local promoter for the proposed preseason trip, announced Friday AS Roma’s matches against the Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the K League 1 side Incheon United will not take place as scheduled. The announcement comes on the heels of a report in Italian media over the weekend that AS Roma would not travel to South Korea because local organizers had not delivered on financial com

June 30, 2023

Top pro football league tops 10,000 in average attendance in 1st half

On the strength of an offensive surge and a tight race in the middle, the top South Korean professional football league has established an attendance record for its current format. The 12 teams in the K League 1 averaged 10,328 fans per match through 19 out of 38 contests this season, the league office announced Tuesday. It's the largest figure for the first half since the K League introduced the promotion-relegation system in 2013. Last year, with the country still not fully out of the COV

June 27, 2023

S. Korean defender Kim Ji-soo signs with Brentford

South Korean football defender Kim Ji-soo has signed with the Premier League club Brentford. Brentford announced their acquisition of the 18-year-old Monday for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal, with a club option for a fifth year. The deal is subject to international clearance, Brentford added. Kim, who completed a medical late last week, will join Brentford's B-team for pre-season training this week. Kim played in 19 matches for Seongnam FC in the K League 1 last year on a semi-pro

June 27, 2023

Celtic target Yang Hyun-jun declares desire to move to Europe

Caught between a European club wanting his services and his current team hoping to hold onto him, Gangwon FC attacker Yang Hyun-jun has made it clear he'd like to play overseas someday. "It's a dream for every player to go to Europe," Yang said after a 1-1 draw against Suwon FC in a K League 1 match Sunday, three days after Gangwon acknowledged having received an offer from Scottish champions Celtic FC for the promising 21-year-old. "I know our team is in a difficult sit

June 26, 2023

Korean soccer players suspended for 1 game, fined W15m for allegedly racist comments

Three Korean soccer players with Ulsan Hyundai FC were suspended for one game and fined 15 million won ($11,500) each on Thursday for posting allegedly racist comments online. A disciplinary committee under the Korea Professional Football League announced their decision to punish Ulsan defender Lee Myung-jae and his teammates Lee Gyu-sung and Park Yong-woo for posting allegedly racist comments on social media, one of which referenced Thai player Sasalak Haiprakhon earlier this month. This marks

June 22, 2023

National football team defender Kim Jin-su likely out 2 months with orbital fracture

Veteran South Korean left back Kim Jin-su will be sidelined for about two months after suffering an orbital fracture during a friendly match against El Salvador on Tuesday. Kim sustained the facial injury in an inadvertent collision with teammate Lee Jae-sung late in the first half at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in the central city of Daejeon. Kim briefly moved to the sidelines to get treatment and came back on, before being subbed out in the 58th minute. Kim's face was badly swollen by then,

June 21, 2023