Korea Republic men’s national team marched into the third round of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup, scoring no fewer than seven unanswered goals against Singapore on the road.
 

Kim Dohoon’s charges claimed a 7-0 victory in their penultimate Group C game at the National Stadium in Singapore on Thursday. Both Son Heungmin and Lee Kangin scored twice, with Joo Minkyu, Bae Junho, and Hwang Heechan also on target in the comprehensive win.
 

The result put the Taegeuk Warriors on top of their group with 13 points, five points clear of second-placed China PR, who drew with Thailand on the same evening. Korea Republic have secured passage to the third round as the group winners, regardless of the outcome of the final group match against the Chinese to be held in Seoul on Tuesday.
 

A total of 36 teams take part in the second round, where the participating countries are drawn into nine group of four teams. Two sides from each group – 18 teams – advance to the third round of the Asian Qualifiers.
 

Kim Dohoon opted for a 4-3-3 formation: Joo Minkyu started as a lone striker flanked by Son Heungmin and Lee Kangin; Lee Jaesung, Hwang Inbeom and Jung Wooyoung in midfield; Kim Jinsu, Kwon Kyungwon, Cho Yoomin, Hwang Jaewon at the back; and Jo Hyeonwoo between the sticks.

Cho Yoomin’s header off a corner just four minutes after the kick-off set the tone of the game for the visitors, who duly took an early lead on nine minutes. Son Heungmin broke into the left side of the area to fire a low shot that Hassan Sunny managed to parry away. Joo Minkyu latched onto the rebound before laying the ball into the path of Lee Kangin, who dribbled past his marker to find the back of the net with a powerful effort.
 

Singapore fought back against the run of play, but it was the visitors that extended their lead soon afterwards. On 20 minutes, Kim Jinsu received the ball following a corner from the left before sending an inviting cross into the goalmouth, where Joo Minkyu rose highest among the pack to glance a header and score his first goal for Korea Republic.
 

The visitors did not rest on the two-goal cushion, as Joo Minkyu capitalised on a defensive error to intercept the ball and lay it over to Son Heungmin. The captain connected with a shot from an acute angle that Sunny managed to block with an outstretched leg.
 

Korea Republic kept up the pressure with their forwards exchanging positions to breach the rearguard, with Son Heungmin, Lee Jaesung and Kim Jinsu – all of whom were born in 1992 – marauding on the left flank.

There were goals aplenty for the visitors after the interval. Eight minutes into the second half, Joo Minkyu found Son Heungmin lurking into the left channel – Son then broke into the edge of the area before firing a low shot to score his third goal in as many games for his country.
 

Moments later, Korea Republic launched a quick counterattack from the middle of the park, with Joo Minkyu setting up Lee Kangin for the fourth goal of the evening. It took only three minutes for Son Heungmin to complete his brace, as the No7 netted his second in a strikingly similar way as the first.
 

With such a comfortable margin, Kim Dohoon rang a couple of changes up front with Um Wonsang and Hwang Heechan coming off the bench to replace Lee Kangin and Joo Minkyu respectively. Hwang was then deployed as a centre-forward, lurking into the space behind the opposing defence.
 

Midway through the second half saw Bae Junho and Park Seungwook make their international debuts, coming on for Lee Jaesung and Hwang Jaewon respectively on 70 minutes. Bae, in particular, almost made an instant impact, only to see his shot off a Um Wonsang cross denied by a desperate tackle from a defender.

However, the Stoke City starlet made no mistake from his second chance, latching onto a low cross from fellow debutant Park Seungwook to fire home with a clinical finish on 79 minutes.
 

Two minutes later, another substitute Hwang Heechan found the net amidst a goalmouth scramble to round off the goal fest, as Korea Republic claimed a 7-0 victory.
 

Meanwhile, Joo Minkyu leapfrogged into eighth place – at the age of 34 years and 54 days – in Korea Republic’s oldest debut goal scorers list, surpassing Choi Jincheul (34 years and 21 days) with the header against Singapore.

2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers

Second Round Group C

Singapore 0-7 Korea Republic

Goals: Lee Kangin(9’, 54’), Joo Minkyu(20’), Son Heungmin(53’, 56’), Bae Junho(79’), Hwang Heechan(81’).

Korea : Jo Hyeonwoo(GK), Kim Jinsu, Kwon Kyungwon, Cho Yoomin, Hwang Jaewon (Park Seungwook 70’), Jung Wooyoung, Hwang Inbeom, Lee Jaesung (Bae Junho 70’), Lee Kangin (Um Wonsang 57’), Son Heungmin (Oh Sehoon 87’), Joo Minkyu (Hwang Heechan 58’)