The South Korean national football team will play a friendly match against South American powerhouse Paraguay during the October international match window, to be held in Korea. The Korea Football Association (KFA) officially announced on the 12th that the Korean national team, preparing for the 2026 North America World Cup, will host Paraguay on October 14th. This will be one of two friendly matches scheduled for the October international window, with the specific venue and kickoff time to be confirmed later.
This will be the first encounter with Paraguay in three years and four months, since their friendly match on June 10, 2022, in Suwon. In that game, Korea showed its resilience by coming back from a 0-2 deficit to draw 2-2 with consecutive goals from Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur) and Jung Woo-young (Union Berlin). Historically, Korea holds a slight advantage with 2 wins, 4 draws, and 1 loss in 7 matches.
Paraguay, ranked 48th in the FIFA rankings, is currently in 5th place in the South American qualifiers, fiercely competing for one of the six direct qualification spots for the main tournament. Notably, Paraguay has demonstrated formidable strength, defeating Uruguay and Chile 2-0 and 1-0 respectively, and drawing 2-2 with Colombia. Their best World Cup performance was reaching the quarterfinals in the 2010 South Africa tournament.
Meanwhile, the South Korean national football team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, is on a smooth path, having passed the 2026 FIFA North America World Cup Asian Qualifiers Second Round undefeated. Korea secured a 4-0 victory in their final Group B away match against Kuwait on the 10th. This means Hong Myung-bo's squad finished the Second Round of this World Cup with a perfect record of six wins in six matches, showcasing their formidable strength. Finishing all matches in the Second Round undefeated is a remarkable achievement, the first in 16 years since the 2010 South Africa World Cup qualifiers.
Korea secured its World Cup qualification early, having achieved a historic 11th consecutive World Cup appearance by defeating Iraq 2-0 in an away match on the 6th. This is an unparalleled achievement, being the first in Asia and the sixth globally. In Group B, Korea and Jordan have both secured direct tickets to the World Cup finals.
Furthermore, Korea concluded the Second Round with a dominant home victory, ending on a high note. This was a stark contrast to the disappointing loss against the United Arab Emirates in the final match of the 2022 Qatar World Cup Third Round. Jeon Jin-woo's opening goal in the 30th minute of the first half was followed by successive goals from Lee Kang-in, Oh Hyun-gyu, and Lee Jae-sung in the second half, demonstrating potent attacking power. This friendly match against Paraguay is expected to be an important opportunity to assess the team's strength and improve player chemistry ahead of the upcoming Third Round.
[Copyright (c) Global Economic Times. All Rights Reserved.]
