Korea secures 5-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago in friendly

SALT LAKE CITY — Korea romped to a comfortable victory in its first World Cup tuneup match, putting on an attacking display ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America. 

Korea, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, cruised to a 5-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago in a friendly at South Field on the campus of Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City on Saturday. The victory was led by standout performances from Korea's captain Son Heung-min of Los Angeles FC (LAFC) and Cho Gue-sung of FC Midtjylland, both scoring twice.

Hong's side improved its record to five wins, one draw and three losses in nine friendlies since the second half of last year. The victory ended a poor run that included back-to-back defeats to the Ivory Coast by 0-4 and Austria by 0-1 in March and gave Korea its first win in three matches since a 1-0 victory over Ghana last year.

The match was the first of two friendlies scheduled during Korea's pre-World Cup training camp in Salt Lake City ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America. The next will be against El Salvador on Wednesday at the same field before traveling to Guadalajara, Mexico, the site of its World Cup tournament. 

The Caribbean nation entered the match ranked at No. 102 in the FIFA rankings, 77 places below Korea, which is ranked at No. 25. It also failed to qualify for the World Cup. Despite Trinidad and Tobago's lower FIFA ranking, it was selected as Korea's sparring partner because the Korea Football Association prioritized gaining match experience at altitude over the strength of the opposition and sought teams willing to travel to Salt Lake City rather than relocate the camp. 

As Team Korea will play its first two group-stage World Cup matches in Guadalajara, which sits at 1,571 meters (5,154 feet) above sea level, the team established a training base in Salt Lake City to prepare for the conditions. The training base is at an elevation of 1,460 meters and offers similar temperatures, humidity and time zone conditions. The squad has been holding its final preparations there since May 19 and plans to use the friendlies to assess its progress.

Although the opposition was relatively weak, the victory was still meaningful for the team. Son, the team's captain and leading scorer, ended a lengthy goal drought. 

Hong's starting lineup featured mainly K League players and members of Britain's Championship who had arrived early at the pre-World Cup training camp and had more time to build up their fitness. Even so, Son, who plays in the United States and joined the camp a week later than the main squad, led the attack as the lone striker.

In the first half, Korea led 2-0 with Son scoring both goals.

Hong deployed a 3-4-2-1 formation with Son as the lone striker, a setup commonly referred to as "Son-top" because of Son's role at the tip of the attack. Korea controlled possession through much of the first half but struggled to find a breakthrough.

Son changed the momentum. In the 40th minute, Kim Jin-gyu of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motor FC threaded a pass forward and Kim Moon-hwan of Daejeon Hana Citizen FC delivered a low cross. Son calmly guided the ball into the net with his right foot. The second goal came just three minutes later. After Bae Jun-ho of Stoke City FC won a penalty following a foul, Son stepped up and converted with a powerful right-footed strike.

The goals also ended Son's scoring drought at the club level with LAFC. He found the net for the first time in nearly two months since scoring against Cruz Azul of Mexico in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals on April 8, raising expectations ahead of the World Cup.

Son had gone scoreless in his previous 10 appearances for LAFC. He also recorded his 55th and 56th goals for Korea, moving within two goals of Cha Bum-kun's all-time national team scoring record of 58.

After the break, Cho came on for Son in the 60th minute and made an immediate impact. In the 66th minute, he headed home a trademark cross from Lee Dong-gyeong of Ulsan HD FC, who delivered the ball with the outside of his left foot. In the 77th minute, Cho completed his brace with a right-footed finish from close range after collecting Seol Young-woo of Red Star Belgrade's pass amid a scramble in front of goal.

The goal was Cho's first for Korea in about six months since a friendly against Bolivia in November last year. It was also his first goal at any level in roughly three months, since scoring against Nottingham Forest in the first leg of FC Midtjylland's UEFA Europa League round-of-16 tie on March 13.

Hwang Hee-chan also converted a penalty in the 75th minute. 

The benefits of Korea's pre-World Cup training camp were also evident. The team appeared to have adapted reasonably well to the high-altitude conditions.

However, with the coaching staff making nine substitutions to manage the squad's overall fitness, the team will need to continue improving its acclimatization in the remaining days before the tournament.

The Saturday match was played under an agreement allowing each side up to 11 substitutions. Cooling breaks, which will be used at the World Cup in North and Central America, were also implemented, with one break scheduled in the middle of each half.

Korea must also prepare for a higher level of competition, given that Trinidad and Tobago is ranked outside the top 100 in the FIFA rankings. Korea has been drawn into Group A at the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Mexico, the Czech Republic and South Africa.

There was also one setback, unfortunately: two players were forced off due to injuries suffered against Trinidad and Tobago's physical defending. Cho Yu-min of Sharjah FC was substituted in the 53rd minute, while Stoke City FC's Bae came off in the 60th minute.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America will kick off on June 11 and will run through July 19. Korea’s first match will be against the Czech Republic on June 12. 

Stuck at work or school when Korea kicks off? We've got you covered. The Korea JoongAng Daily is live-blogging every Korea match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, around the clock. Don't miss a moment.  

Updated, May 31: Updated and added information on the second half of the match. 

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY PIH JU-YOUNG [[email protected]]