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The South Korean national team have won their final warm-up ahead of the 2026 World Cup. In the erarly hours of 4 June, at BYU South Field in Provo, Utah, coach Hong Myung-bo’s side edged a 1-0 win over El Salvador. FC Bayern defender Minjae Kim was in the starting XI and came off after 62 minutes. South Korea took control of the game early on, creating several chances through Hwang In-beom, Lee Ki-hyuk and Hwang Hee-chan, but were unable to find the net before half-time against a tightly organised Salvadoran defence.
The game was decided in the 56th minute by a spectacular free-kick from Lee Dong-gyeong. Following a set-piece from the right, the Ulsan HD midfielder curled the ball over the wall with his left foot and straight into the top corner to score what would be the goal of the day. As the match progressed, Hong Myung-bo used the encounter to evaluate his team ahead of the World Cup: Cho Wi-je made his international debut at the start of the second half, with Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, Oh Hyeon-gyu, Jens Castrop, Yang Hyun-jun and Paik Seung-ho, among others, coming on later in the game. Despite further chances – including efforts from Jens Castrop and Lee Kang-in – the game ended in the 1-0 win.
The narrow victory wrapped up a perfect warm-up campaign for the South Koreans following their earlier 5-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago. Following a rest day on 5 June, the squad will travel to Guadalajara in Mexico on 6 June, where they'll make their final preparations for the tournament. South Korea face Czechia in their World Cup opener on 11 June at 20:00 local time (04:00 CEST) at the Estadio Guadalajara.
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