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Korea coach hints at further experimentation in 2 friendlies in U.S.

Published: 01 Sep. 2025, 12:12

Hong Myung-bo, head coach of the Korean men's national football team, speaks to reporters at Incheon International Airport on Sept. 1, before departing for the United States for friendly matches against the U.S. and Mexico. [NEWS1]

Korea men's football head coach Hong Myung-bo said Monday he sees the two upcoming friendly matches in the United States as an opportunity to further experiment with new tactics and strategies ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Hong and nine members of his 26-man squad left Korea for the U.S. on Monday, with the 17 remaining players, all of them based in foreign leagues, set to join the national team later this week.

The Taegeuk Warriors will first play the home team, United States, at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, at 5 p.m. Saturday. Then they will travel to Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee, to take on Mexico at 8 p.m. Sept. 9.

Korea are No. 23 in the current FIFA rankings, with Mexico at No. 13 and the United States at No. 15.

"With about 10 months left until the World Cup, every match from here and on will be important for us," Hong told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, before boarding his flight. "Results are obviously important, but we also want to keep experimenting and see which players will be competitive for us come next June. And we will get to play good opponents this time."

Korea secured their World Cup berth in June, after mostly sticking with a back-four formation featuring two center backs flanked by two fullbacks. During the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship on home soil in July, Hong, no longer under pressure to qualify for the big tournament, leaned on a back-three setup, with three center backs manning the line and two wingbacks providing additional defensive stability and attacking options.

The EAFF tournament mostly featured domestic league players, and Hong said he was now looking forward to incorporating Europe-based veterans into the system that he described as "Plan B" for the World Cup.

Players on the Korean men's national football team prepare to leave Incheon International Airport for the United States on Sept. 1, for friendly matches against the U.S. and Mexico. [NEWS1]

"During the Asian World Cup qualifiers, we kept playing with our Plan A, and I believe our core players have a good understanding of that system," Hong said. "And we first experimented with Plan B at the EAFF tournament. During this trip, we will have further experiments using players coming over from Europe."

One such player will be Jens Castrop, born in Germany to a Korean mother and a German father. The midfielder for Borussia Monchengladbach is the first foreign-born player of mixed blood to make the Korean senior men's national team.

Hong said he will try to make Castrop's first national team stint as comfortable as possible.

"The key will be for him to demonstrate his competitiveness in his position," the coach added. "He will have some difficulty communicating with his teammates, but we understand he's studying Korean really hard and he's trying to learn more about the country. We all have to work together to help him adjust to the new surroundings as quickly as possible."

When announcing his decision to call up Castrop last week, Hong noted the 22-year-old's "fighter-like, rugged style of play" that makes him unique among the current crop of defensive midfielders for Korea. On this U.S. trip, Castrop would have been given a look as a partner for the national team mainstay Hwang In-beom, but Hwang was dropped from the squad last Friday due to a calf injury.

Hong took Hwang's absence in stride.

Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo gives instructions to his players during his team's second match of the East Asian Football Federation E-1 Football Championship at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on July 11. [YONHAP]

"Based on my experience, we've always had to deal with injuries before big tournaments like the World Cup and the Olympics. And it's possible we will have more injuries later on," the coach said. "Everyone knows Hwang In-beom is a huge part of our team. But this is now an opportunity for us to see what kind of alternatives we have in his absence."

Hong was pressed further about his equivocal comments last week on captaincy for Son Heung-min, who has been wearing the armband since 2018. Instead of offering his full support for Son, Hong had said he may or may not name a new captain before the World Cup, though he wasn't yet ready to make that decision.

"I brought up Son Heung-min's captaincy because I wanted to discuss the possibility of changes for the team. We don't know what's going to happen over the next 10 months," Hong explained Monday. "And this isn't the kind of matter that I can decide alone. I will listen to opinions from every member of the team before making that call, and I think we have plenty of time to do that."

Having served as Korea's captain at the 2002 World Cup, Hong said, "I understand it's really difficult to be captain. And we will continue our discussions to make sure we have the best possible result at the end."

Another area of concern for Hong is the lack of playing time at their clubs for Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain and Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich, two key components of the national team.

Korea national football team head coach Hong Myung-bo announces the squad for September friendlies during a press confenrence at the Football Building in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Aug. 25. [NEWS1]

"It's still early in their seasons, and so we will see how things play out," Hong said. "I can't control their playing time from over here. I hope the players will try to step up their game and earn more minutes. I will have some in-depth conversations with those players during this trip."

Korea have five wins, three draws and three losses all time against the Americans, but dropped their most recent match, a friendly in February 2014, by 2-0.

In 14 meetings against Mexico, Korea have had four wins, two draws and eight losses. They last faced each other in a friendly in November 2020, when Mexico prevailed 3-2.

Yonhap