Preview: South Korea vs Uruguay - prediction, team news, lineups

South Korea and Uruguay will continue life under their respective new managers with an international friendly at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Monday afternoon.

The hosts are coming off a resounding 3-0 victory, while the visitors fell to a 3-1 defeat in their most recent outing.

Match preview

As opening assignments go, Roberto Moreno could not have asked for a better start to his South Korea stint than Thursday’s 3-0 win over Ecuador, although the game did take some time to come into life, with all three goals coming in the second period.

Moreno, back in management after leaving Sochi in August 2025, has been tasked with leading the Taegeuk Warriors into a new era following a disappointing World Cup campaign that saw them win just one of three games and exit in the group stage.

South Korea’s latest victory was their third straight friendly win against American opposition since May, and the Asians have now won five straight warm-up matches against CONMEBOL or CONCACAF sides since October 2025.

Prior to that, they had won just one of the most recent 12, including a 2-1 defeat to Uruguay in 2023, which was South Korea’s seventh loss in nine meetings, with their only win in this fixture coming eight years ago.

Monday’s hosts have kept clean sheets in each of their last four home matches - three of which have come in Seoul - and will look to maintain that defensive solidity as they seek another positive result in front of their fans.

Like South Korea, Uruguay also suffered a group-stage exit at the World Cup, prompting a change in management with Diego Forlan replacing Marcelo Bielsa.

Stepping up from the Under-20s to take charge of the senior team, Forlan saw his side concede twice in second-half stoppage time as they slipped to a 3-1 defeat against Japan at the Miyagi Stadium on Thursday.

Despite the disappointing outcome, La Celeste were competitive for much of the contest against a side three places above them in the FIFA rankings, suggesting their new manager’s debut was more promising than the scoreline indicated.

Forlan registered an assist and claimed victory in his only meeting with South Korea as a player at the 2010 World Cup, and the legendary forward will be hoping for a repeat from the dugout as Uruguay bid to end an eight-game winless run.

The South Americans' current struggles are surprising given they were unbeaten in five matches (W4, D1) heading into November 2025, before their form took a downturn.

South Korea friendly form:

South Korea form (all competitions):

Uruguay friendly form:

Uruguay form (all competitions):

Team News

Son Heung-min’s goal against Ecuador was his 57th at international level, leaving him just one behind Cha Bum-kun’s all-time record of 58 goals for South Korea.

The skipper is also closing in on 150 caps as he looks to further extend his record as South Korea’s most-capped player.

Twenty-nine-year-old Dong-gyeong Lee could be rewarded with a start after scoring within five minutes of coming off the bench last time out.

Captain Jose Maria Gimenez made his 150th international appearance off the bench against Japan, becoming just the ninth player in Uruguay's history to reach that milestone.

With Fernando Muslera no longer involved, Santiago Mele is expected to remain first-choice in goal after playing the full 90 minutes against Japan.

South Korea possible starting lineup:

Seung-gyu; Cho, Min-jae, H Lee, Seol; Jeong, Park, J Lee, Song; Oh, Son

Uruguay possible starting lineup:

Mele; Sanabria, Olivera, R Araujo, Nandez; M Araujo, Bentancur, Torreira, Rodriguez; Vinas, Nunez