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'Cho Kyu Sung's' goal gives Klinsmann Ho a 1-0 lead over Singapore at half-time

2026 World Cup North America, Asia 2nd Qualifying Round, 1st leg

South Korea's quest to qualify for an 11th consecutive World Cup ended with a 1-0 halftime lead against Singapore in the first match of the 2026 North American World Cup Asia Second Qualifying Round.

Jürgen Klinsmann's (GER) men's national team went into halftime with a 1-0 lead thanks to a 44th-minute goal from Cho Kyu-sung (Mittwillan) in the first leg of their World Cup Asia 2018 Second Qualifying Group C match against Singapore at the Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

Lee Kang-in's (Paris Saint-Germain) ruler-precise pass and Cho Kyu-sung's finishing ability stood out.

Despite South Korea's dominance over Singapore in the FIFA rankings and head-to-head matchups, the one-sided offense was unable to find the back of the net. They didn't score until the last minute of the first half.

South Korea is ranked 24th, while Singapore is 155th. The Koreans have a commanding head-to-head record of 21 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses.

South Korea was drawn in a group with Singapore, China, and Thailand in the second round.

The top two finishers in the group will advance to the third round of qualifying and earn a spot at the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.

The third round of the 18-nation tournament, which is divided into three groups of six, will begin next September.

Klinsmann named his best starting lineup with a "knock on wood" mentality despite Singapore's underdog status.

The strikers include Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Cho Kyu-sung, and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton).

Hwang In-beom (Zvezda), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), and Lee Kang-in occupied the midfield spots, while Lee Ki-je (Suwon), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Jung Seung-hyun, and Seol Young-woo (Ulsan) formed the back four. Kim Seung-kyu (Al Shabab) wore the goalkeeping gloves.

Singapore started the game with all 10 field players down low, opting for a defend-first, 카지노사이트랭크 attack-later tactic.

The Klinsmanns came out firing, but were unable to break through due to Singapore's tight defense and bad luck in goal.

Hwang Hee-chan was awarded a free kick in the sixth minute of the first half for a foul on an opponent while breaking down the left flank. Kicker Son Heung-min struck it hard with his right foot, but the Singapore defense blocked it.

Hwang In-beom threatened Singapore in the 10th minute with a surprise left-footed shot from just outside the penalty box.

In the 13th minute, Hwang Hee-chan sent in a sharp cross that didn't find Cho Kyu-sung's head. It was a threatening shot that could have been a goal with a slight change of direction.

In the 22nd minute, Lee Kang-in's cross was headed down by Cho Kyu-sung and Lee Jae-sung slotted it into the Singapore goal with his right foot, but the goal was disallowed due to an offside flag.

Son Heung-min tried his luck in the 26th minute, but his shot was saved by the Singapore goalkeeper.

In the 29th minute, Lee Kang-in sent in an unexpected right-footed cross from the right flank, and Lee Jae-sung got on the end of it with a precise header that went straight at the keeper.

Cho Kyu-sung's powerful right-footed shot in the 33rd minute hit the post.

Just when it looked like the first half would end at 0-0, Cho Kyu-sung broke the deadlock. In the 44th minute, Lee Kang-in's cross was met by Cho Kyu-sung, who raced onto it and slotted home with his left foot to rattle the Singapore net. 섯다