Korea Republic national football team
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Korea_Republic_national_football_team".

Korea Republic

Nickname(s)	Taegeuk Ho (Tigers), Reds
Association	Korea Football Association
Confederation	AFC (Asia)
Head coach	Huh Jung-Moo
Captain	Kim Nam-Il
Most caps	Hong Myung-Bo (135)
Top scorer	Cha Bum-kun (55)
FIFA code	KOR
FIFA ranking	53
Highest FIFA ranking	17 (December 1998)
Lowest FIFA ranking	56 (February 1996)
Elo ranking	44
Highest Elo ranking	15 (Sep 1980, Jun 2002)
Lowest Elo ranking	59 (August 1967)
Home colours Away colours
First international
South Korea 5 - 3 Mexico (London, England; August 2, 1948)
Biggest win
South Korea 16 - 0 Nepal (Incheon, South Korea; September 29, 2003)
Biggest defeat
Sweden 12 - 0 South Korea (London, England; August 5, 1948)
World Cup
Appearances	7 (First in 1954)
Best result	Fourth place, 2002
AFC Asian Cup
Appearances	11 (First in 1956)
Best result	Winners, 1956 and 1960
Confederations Cup
Appearances	1 (First in 2001)
Best result	1st round, 2001

The Korea Republic national football team represents the Republic of Korea in international football competitions. The team, also known as South Korea, is recognized as Korea Republic by FIFA. It has often been considered Asia's most successful national team, since it made its debut at the 1948 Summer Olympics. South Korea has participated in seven World Cup final tournament, and became the first Asian nation to reach the semi-finals, doing so when it co-hosted the 2002 tournament. It currently holds the best FIFA World Cup record among Asian teams.^[1]

History

Since the 1950s, South Korea has emerged as a major football power in Asia, winning several prestigious Asian football championships, including the first two Asian Cup tournaments. The South Korean national team has also played in six consecutive World Cup finals from 1986, making a total of seven World Cup finals in all. In 1954 World Cup, they played 2 games with Hungary and Turkey. They lost to Hungary 0-9 and 0-7 to Turkey. It’s been suggested that the players failed to adapt to the cool playing conditions.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosted jointly with Japan, was a sign of the rapid progress made in South Korean football. Led by Dutch coach Guus Hiddink and assistant coach Pim Verbeek, South Korea defeated Italy and Spain to become the first Asian national team to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

On June 8, 2005, South Korea qualified for their seventh World Cup by beating Kuwait 4-0 in Kuwait City.

The enthusiasm of the red-clad supporters, known as the "Red Devils", also made a big impression on viewers world-wide. After the team success, football had an explosion of popularity in the country, where the game had traditionally been less popular than other games, such as baseball, formerly the most popular spectator sport in the country.

During the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, South Korea achieved their first World Cup victory outside of Asia by beating Togo 2-1 in Frankfurt on June 13. Against France, the team managed a late equalizer from Park Ji-Sung to end up with a 1-1 tie and this put them tied with Switzerland on top of their group. However, they were knocked out of the tournament after a 2-0 loss against Switzerland, while France advanced with a 2-0 win against Togo.

Forthcoming Matches

Date	Opponent	Result	Score	Venue	Time(KST)	Competition
July 16, 2008	Guatemala	W	2-1	Ansan, Korea	8pm	Friendly
July 27, 2008	Côte d'Ivoire			Suwon, Korea	8pm	Friendly
July 31, 2008	Australia			Seoul, Korea	8pm	Friendly
August 7, 2008	Cameroon			Qinhuangdao, China		2008 Olympics Group Match
August 10, 2008	Italy			Qinhuangdao, China		2008 Olympics Group Match
August 13, 2008	Honduras			Shanghai, China		2008 Olympics Group Match
September 10, 2008	Korea DPR			Pyongyang, Korea		2010 World Cup Qualifier
October 15, 2008	United Arab Emirates			Seoul, Korea		2010 World Cup Qualifier
November 19, 2008	Saudi Arabia			Riyadh, Saudi Arabia		2010 World Cup Qualifier
February 2, 2009	Iran			Tehran, Iran		2010 World Cup Qualifier
April 1, 2009	Korea DPR			Seoul, Korea		2010 World Cup Qualifier
June 6, 2009	United Arab Emirates			Abu Dhabi, UAE		2010 World Cup Qualifier
June 10, 2009	Saudi Arabia			Seoul, Korea		2010 World Cup Qualifier
June 17, 2009	Iran			Seoul, Korea		2010 World Cup Qualifier

World Cup record

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1954	Round 1	16	2	0	0	2	0	16
1986	Round 1	20	3	0	1	2	4	7
1990	Round 1	22	3	0	0	3	1	6
1994	Round 1	20	3	0	2	1	4	5
1998	Round 1	30	3	0	1	2	2	9
2002	Fourth Place	4	7	3	2	2	8	6
2006	Round 1	17	3	1	1	1	3	4
2010
Total	7/18		24	4	7	13	22	53

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Summer Olympics record

Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1948	Second Round	2	1	0	1	5	15
1964	First Round	3	0	0	3	1	20
1988	First Round	3	0	2	1	1	2
1992	First Round	3	0	3	0	2	2
1996	First Round	3	1	1	1	2	2
2000	First Round	3	2	0	1	2	3
2004	Quarterfinals	4	1	2	1	8	8
2008	Qualified
Total	7/15	21	5	9	8	21	52

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Asian Cup record

Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1956	Champions	3	2	1	0	9	6
1960	Champions	3	3	0	0	9	1
1964	Third Place	3	1	0	2	2	4
1968	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1972	Second Place	5	1	2	2	7	6
1976	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1980	Second Place	6	4	1	1	12	6
1984	Round 1	4	0	2	2	1	3
1988	Second Place	6	5	1	0	11	3
1992	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1996	Quarterfinals	4	1	1	2	7	11
2000	Third Place	6	3	1	2	9	6
2004	Quarterfinals	4	2	1	1	9	4
2007	Third Place	6	1	4	1	3	3
2011	Qualified
Total	11/14	50	23	14	13	79	53

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

East Asian Cup record

Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
2003	Champions	3	2	1	0	4	1
2005	Fourth Place	3	0	2	1	1	2
2008	Champions	3	1	2	0	5	4

*Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

**Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

Current Squad

The following squad is for WCQ vs Jordan 31 May 2008.

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Kim Yong-Dae 11 October 1979 21 -11 Gwangju Sangmu 18 GK Kim Young-Kwang 28 June 1983 11 -9 Ulsan Hyundai GK Jung Sung-Ryong 4 January 1985 4 -3 Seongnam Ilhwa 2 DF Oh Beom-Suk 9 July 1984 14 0 Krylia Sovetov Samara 3 DF Cho Won-Hee 17 April 1983 21 1 Suwon Samsung 4 DF Cho Yong-Hyung 3 November 1983 5 0 Jeju United 6 DF Kwak Hee-Ju 5 October 1981 5 0 Suwon Samsung 12 DF Lee Young-Pyo 23 April 1977 96 5 Tottenham Hotspur 14 DF Kang Min-Soo 14 February 1986 12 0 Jeonbuk Hyundai 15 DF Kim Chi-Woo 11 November 1983 11 0 Chunnam Dragons 16 DF Lee Jung-Soo 8 January 1980 2 0 Suwon Samsung DF Cho Byung-Kuk 1 July 1981 11 1 Seongnam Ilhwa DF Kim Dong-Jin 29 January 1982 46 2 FC Zenit Saint Petersburg 5 MF Kim Nam-Il (captain) 14 March 1977 81 2 Vissel Kobe 7 MF Park Ji-Sung 25 February 1981 70 8 Manchester United 8 MF Kim Do-Heon 14 July 1982 49 11 West Bromwich Albion 13 MF Lee Chung-Yong 2 July 1988 1 0 FC Seoul MF Choi Hyo-Jin 18 August 1983 6 0 Pohang Steelers MF Oh Jang-Eun 24 July 1985 8 0 Ulsan Hyundai MF Kim Jung-Woo 9 May 1982 34 1 Seongnam Ilhwa 9 FW Ko Ki-Gu 31 July 1980 3 0 Chunnam Dragons 10 FW Park Chu-Young 10 July 1985 26 9 FC Seoul 11 FW Seol Ki-Hyeon 8 January 1979 77 18 Fulham 17 FW Ahn Jung-Hwan 27 January 1976 66 17 Busan I'Park FW Cho Dong-Gun 16 April 1986 0 0 Seongnam Ilhwa

Recent Call Ups

The following players have also been called up to the South Korea squad in 2008.

Goalkeepers

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Kim Byung-Ji	April 8, 1970	FC Seoul	62 (0)	v. Chile, 30 January 2008

Defenders

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Park Won-Jae	May 28, 1984	Pohang Steelers		v. Turkmenistan, 6 February 2008
Hwang Jae-Won	April 13, 1981	Pohang Steelers	2 (0)	v. Turkmenistan, 6 February 2008

Midfielders

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Han Tae-You	March 31, 1981	Gwangju Sangmu	1 (0)	v. North Korea, 26 March 2008
Lee Jong-Min	September 1, 1983	FC Seoul		v. North Korea, 26 March 2008
Lee Kwan-Woo	February 25, 1978	Suwon Samsung	13 (1)	v. Turkmenistan, 6 February 2008
Lee Dong-Sik	March 15, 1979	Jeju United	0 (0)	v. Chile, 30 January 2008

Strikers

Name	Date of birth	Club	Caps (goals)	Most Recent Call up
Cho Jae-Jin	July 9, 1981	Chonbuk Hyundai	37 (10)	v. North Korea, 26 March 2008
Yeom Ki-Hoon	March 30, 1983	Ulsan Hyundai	15 (3)	v. North Korea, 26 March 2008

2006 World Cup squad

2006 FIFA World Cup head coach was Dick Advocaat.

The South Korean team for 2006 World Cup had ten veterans from the 2002 World Cup squad and had more World Cup goalscorers than any other nation heading into Germany: Ahn Jung-Hwan, Seol Ki-Hyeon, Lee Eul-Yong, Song Chong-Gug, and Park Ji-Sung [1].

2006 World Cup information

South Korea won its opening game of the 2006 World Cup against Togo. After the opening 45 minutes, Togo was up 1-0 after a goal from Mohamed Kader. Togo had Jean-Paul Abalo sent off by English referee Graham Poll 10 minutes into the second half as a result of receiving his second yellow card for a trip on Park Ji Sung, and Lee Chun-Soo put away the resulting free-kick to tie the game. South Korea made the most of its one-man advantage and substitute Ahn Jung-Hwan scored the team's second goal with a deflected strike from 20 yards. The final score of the game was 2-1 to South Korea. It was the team's first World Cup finals victory outside Korea.

South Korea's next opponent in the World Cup 2006 was 1998 World Cup winners France on 18 June, in Leipzig. The result was a 1-1 draw. France gained an early lead after 9 minutes, through Thierry Henry, but South Korea earned a late equalizer in the 82nd minute when Park Ji-Sung flicked the ball over French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez and defender William Gallas and into the net.

South Korea's final game in the group phase was against Switzerland on 23 June 2006. South Korea lost 0-2, and did not advance to the Round of 16, arriving third in the group. The game against Switzerland had some controversy, which involved Switzerland's second goal in the 77th minute when the offside flag had been raised prior to it. The referee, Horacio Elizondo, waived the call and allowed the goal because a South Korean player touched the ball therefore canceling out the offside. There were also two controversial hand balls when, both times, Swiss player Patrick Müller touched the ball inside the Swiss penalty area^{citation needed}.

Asian Cup 2007

South Korea drew 1-1 with Saudi Arabia in the opening game, with a goal from Choi Sung Kuk, but conceding a penalty kick scored by Yasser Al-Qahtani. Their next game was a disastrous 2-1 defeat to Bahrain. As had been the case in the Saudi game, the Koreans were unable to hold on to a lead, scoring early on through Kim Do Heon, only to be overturned with goals from Salman Isa and Ismaeel Abdullatif. In the final group game, the Koreans defeated host nation Indonesia 1-0 with a goal from Kim Jung Woo. They progressed as the Saudi Arabia defeated Bahrain 4-0 to book the Koreans a quarter-final tie against the Iran.

South Korea defeated Iran in the quarter-finals, 4-2 on penalties, after a 0-0 draw in regulation time. Facing the same Iran team that had gone to the 2006 World Cup, the game was highly competitive for 120 minutes. Fortunately for Korea, veteran goalkeeper Lee Woon Jae, who had starred in South Korea's penalty shootout victory over Spain at the 2002 World Cup, saved the penalties from Iran captain Mehdi Mahdavikia and forward Rasoul Khatibi. Kim Do Heon failed to score, but Lee Chun Soo and substitutes Cho Jae Jin and Kim Sang Sik all succeeded from the spot past Vahid Talebloo, who had been brought on specifically for the shootout. Kim Jung Woo then scored Korea's last penalty to send his nation into the semi-finals.

Korea Republic played the resurgent Republic of Iraq in the semi-finals. Korea created a number of good chances, many of which fell to Lee Chun-Soo; Iraq, led by star striker Younis Mahmoud, also created a number of good chances, including one that hit the post and was cleared off the line by Kim Jin-Kyu. However, Korea were once again unable to break the deadlock after 120 minutes and, for the second time in four days, found themselves in a penalty shootout. Lee Chun-Soo, Cho Jae-Jin, and Lee Dong-Gook converted their penalties, as did their counterparts in the Iraqi side. However, Yeom Ki-Hoon saw his penalty saved by Iraq goalkeeper Noor Sabri; after Ahmad Mnajed converted his spot kick, Kim Jung-Woo's penalty hit the post, meaning that Korea had once again failed to reach the final of the Asian Cup. However, Korea Republic coach Pim Verbeek stated that the tournament was a good experience and exposure for his young and developing team.

Korea played Japan in the third place play-off. They won the game through yet another penalty shootout, their third in the tournament, after Japan was unable to break the deadlock despite playing against a 10 man squad stripped of its entire coaching staff. Pim Verbeek announced his resignation as national manager after the game.

National Team performance against various opponents

vs. Europe

( France,  England,  Germany,  Turkey  Croatia)

vs. Asia

( Japan,  Saudi Arabia,  Iran,  Australia)

vs. the Americas

( Guatemala,  USA,  Costa Rica,  Brazil,