Korea secures first win under manager Hong Myung-bo with 3-1 victory over Oman

Korea's Hwang Hee-chan, center right, celebrates scoring with Son Heung-min during a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Oman at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Oman on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

 
Korea beat Oman 3-1 in a 2026 World Cup qualifier on Tuesday after holding onto their early lead and adding two goals in the second half, salvaging their first win under new manager Hong Myung-bo. 
 

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Korea struggled to dominate the match at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Oman, but still capitalized key moments to seal an important three points in the third round of qualifiers.  
 
Hong made some changes in his starting XI from his first game in charge last week that ended with a goalless draw against Palestine.
 
Defensive midfielder Park Yong-woo replaced Jung Woo-young and forward Oh Se-hun started in lieu of Joo Min-kyu, who proved to be less effective in the No. 9 position than Oh last week. Hwang Hee-chan also started as a right winger after being benched in the Palestine game.  

 
The first 10 minutes went solidly in Korea’s favors, with the Taeguk Warriors attempting multiple shots, although the team struggled to get the ball to the center and progressed build-ups from the edges.  
 
But Hwang fired a shot outside the penalty area to open the scoring in the 10th minute that gave Korea an early advantage and boosted the team’s confidence. With the lead, Korea tried to snatch the ball aggressively and recorded more shots on target.  
 
The team still failed to penetrate the center of Oman’s defense where it was packed with multiple players. Hwang In-beom and Park couldn’t make effective passes in the center of the pitch, leaving fullbacks Lee Myung-jae and Seol Young-woo to make crosses from the edges instead.  
 
Oman did not stay all quite, however, with the team playing highline and possessing the ball long enough in the Korea territory after around the 20th minute mark.  
 
Defenders Kim Min-jae and Lee Myung-jae were there to get the ball out and shots Oman attempted went off target, until Harib Al-Saadi’s cross from a free kick found Ahmed AI-Khamisi’s head in the stoppage time.  
 
Both sides returned in the second half without any substitution. Oman’s dense defense repeatedly proved to be a problem for Korea, with multiple defenders marking Son Heung-min or Lee Kang-in at the same time.  
 
Korea had many corner kicks in the second half, but Oman defenders made an adjustment for every cross or shot Korea attempted.  
 
Striker Oh, meanwhile, lacked a powerful presence in set pieces or any situation. He ended up being substituted off for midfielder Lee Jae-sung, who could provide more fluidity in build ups.
 
The addition of Lee saw Korea having enough possession in the Oman territory, which led Son to shoot outside the penalty box and reclaim the lead in the 82nd minute.  
 
Oman played highline again in the remaining time that included a long stoppage time of 16 minutes, but none of their efforts turned into the equalizer. Joo, who came on in the second half, rather dimmed Oman’s hopes for a draw by finding the back of the net in the 101th minute that later sealed Korea’s 3-1 win.  
 
The victory comes after Hong has drawn criticism from Korean football fans for his inability to lead Korea to a win over Palestine that sits over 70 FIFA rankings below Korea last week and his call to take the national team job despite his previous intention to reject the offer. 
 
Hong previously indicated that he would refuse the job, but he reversed his decision and left the Ulsan HD manager position during the ongoing 2024 K League 1 season.  
 
Tuesday’s fixture wraps up the September international break for Korea, with the third round of qualifiers set to resume next month.  
 
Korea need to finish the third round as Group D winners or runners-up, as only top two teams each from three groups in Asia directly qualify for the 2026 World Cup.  
 
Third and fourth-placed teams on the six-team table in each group head to the fourth round to vie for World Cup tickets again.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]