Korea took the lead first with a fortunate opening goal.

The South Korean national football team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, is competing against Kuwait in the final match of the 10th round of Group B in the third Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Oct. 10 at 8 p.m.

Korea has already secured its place in the finals. On 6th, they wrote history by winning 2-0 in an away game against Iraq, qualifying for the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time. This is the first time in Asia and the sixth time globally.

Now Korea aims to achieve an unbeaten run in the qualifiers. The current national team has recorded 10 wins and 5 draws in the North and Central American World Cup second and third qualifiers without a single loss. If they achieve at least a draw in the final game against Kuwait, they will accomplish an unbeaten run in the qualifiers for the first time in 16 years since the 2010 South Africa World Cup.

Korea started with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Oh Hyun-kyu, Bae Jun-ho, Lee Kang-in, Jeon Jin-woo, Won Doo-jae, Hwang In-beom, Seol Young-woo, Kim Ju-sung, Lee Han-beom, Lee Tae-seok, and Lee Chang-geun were the starters. Lee Han-beom made his A-match debut, while Jeon Jin-woo, Kim Ju-sung, and Lee Chang-geun made their A-match starting debuts.

Kuwait also faced off with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Ahmed Zanki, Tareq Al-Kaissi, Jasem Al-Mutairi, Ahmed Al-Dhafiri, Youssef Majed, Abdulwahab Al-Awadi, Fahad Al-Hajeri, Reda Hanni, Meshari Qanim, and Mohammed Khaled were included in the starting lineup.

From the start, Korea took control and knocked on Kuwait's goal. Bae Jun-ho and Jeon Jin-woo actively penetrated the half-space in search of opportunities, while Oh Hyun-kyu moved across a wide range to exploit defensive cracks. Even the defenders, including Lee Han-beom and Kim Ju-sung, all pushed forward past the halfway line to apply strong pressure.

In the 4th minute of the first half, Lee Kang-in delivered a sharp cross, and Bae Jun-ho headed it down, but the defense cleared it first. The goalpost did not assist them. In the 11th minute, Bae Jun-ho got his head on Seol Young-woo's cross. The ball deflected off the defense and hit the right goalpost.

Korea continued to press. In the 19th minute of the first half, Bae Jun-ho unleashed a sharp right-footed curling shot from the left side of the box. However, the goalkeeper dove to save it.

Korea finally found the opening goal. In the 30th minute of the first half, Hwang In-beom delivered a corner kick from the left, and Jeon Jin-woo rushed in to attempt a header. The ball awkwardly deflected off Al-Hajeri's leg and was pulled into the goal.

However, the official record from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) documented it as an own goal by Al-Hajeri, not Jeon Jin-woo's debut goal. However, there is a sufficient possibility for this to be revised later.

[OSEN]