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Korea struggles offensively with second straight goalless defeat in Austria

Published: 01 Apr. 2026, 09:22

Lee Tae-seok, right, tries to run past Christoph Baumgartner of Austria during the teams' friendly football match at Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna on March 31. [YONHAP]

Korea got saddled with their second straight goalless defeat in Austria on Tuesday in what is becoming an increasingly frustrating buildup to the FIFA World Cup.

Korea took a 1-0 loss against Austria in Vienna, despite holding an 11-5 advantage in shot attempts. Austria managed just one shot on target but made it count as Marcel Sabitzer converted that chance for the match's lone goal in the 48th minute at Ernst-Happel-Stadion.

Korea, trying to bounce back after a 4-0 loss to Ivory Coast last Saturday outside London, submitted a stronger effort this time. The defense that had trouble containing opposing attackers Saturday mostly held steady, and Korea as a whole applied more effective pressure.

Long balls set up some counterattack looks behind the Austrian defense, but Korea didn't quite have the clinical touch to finish them.

The big elephant in the room is a recent dip in Son Heung-min's performance.

The longtime captain arrived in the national team camp in March without having netted an open-play goal in nine matches for Los Angeles Football Club this season. He was also under the weather last week, which limited him to second-half minutes against Ivory Coast. Son, like other attackers in that loss, didn't make much of an impact.

Son got the start against Austria and had some promising looks during his 82 minutes of action. But he just didn't have the kind of lethal touch that has put him on the cusp of the all-time Korean goal scoring lead with 54 goals in 142 matches.

Lee Kang-in, center, tries to dribble past Phillipp Mwene, left, and Xaver Schlager of Austria during the teams' friendly football match at Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna on March 31. [YONHAP]

In the 16th minute, Son misfired with his left foot on a fast break from the left side of the box, an opportunity he would have converted in the past. Just past the hour mark, Seol Young-woo's cross from the right side found Son in the center of the box, but the captain's left-footed shot missed the target just to the right.

On a play that was eventually ruled offside, Son's shot off a counterattack chance was turned aside by goalkeeper Patrick Pentz in the 74th minute. Gone are the days when those one-on-one looks were virtually a guaranteed goal for Son.

It's clear that Son, 33, isn't the same inevitable force that won the Premier League Golden Boot in 2022. While the age-related decline may have been expected, it may be coming at a particularly bad time for Korea, with the FIFA World Cup just about two months away.

If Son doesn't turn things around in the coming weeks, whether he should even start for Korea at the World Cup will be a valid, if uncomfortable, question for head coach Hong Myung-bo.

In the immediate aftermath of the latest loss, though, Hong chose to kick the can down the road.

“It's too early to discuss that," Hong responded when asked about the possibility that Son may not be an automatic starter at the World Cup. "He had a couple of chances that he missed, but he did a lot of defensive work up front and experienced some difficulties in his scoring chances. But he has been playing consistently for his club, and I think we can take our time watching him before making that decision."

Yonhap