South Korea play host to Singapore on Thursday looking to make a positive start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.
While Singapore will be pleased to have come through a first-round tie, being drawn with their upcoming opponents, China and Thailand leaves them as underdogs in Group C.
Match preview
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Since losing 4-1 to Brazil in the World Cup last 16 at the end of last year, things have been far from plain sailing for South Korea.
A five-match winless streak in friendly internationals followed that tournament, the Taegeuk Warriors failing to defeat the likes of Peru and El Salvador.
However, Jurgen Klinsmann is finally starting to see some progress from his players, recording three successive victories since the middle of September.
Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Vietnam have each been defeated with clean sheets recorded in the process, with the last outing ending in a 6-0 scoreline.
Klinsmann's team are now on a five-match undefeated streak ahead of a run of competitive encounters through the World Cup qualifiers and the Asian Cup.
From Singapore's perspective, they enter this phase of qualifying on a high having overcome Guan in the first round, prevailing 3-1 on aggregate.
They are now on a three-match winning streak and have lost just once in their last eight outings, with that defeat coming at home to Tajikistan.
The Lions have already won as many games in this qualifying campaign as they did in the 2022 equivalent, and Takayuki Nishigaya will at least want to better that in what is a tough group.
These two nations have not squared off for more than 30 years, Singapore having lost the most recent 10 contests between the sides.
Team News
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Klinsmann could name much of the side that started the friendly against Tunisia with the added bonus of Son Heung-min leading the attack.
The fitness of the European players will be assessed, particularly if they played on Sunday, but Klinsmann may look to go strong and rest players if a suitable scenario arises.
Kim Min-jae and Hwang Hee-chan - both in form for Bayern Munich and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively - should each start in central defence and on the left flank respectively.
Nishigaya may see no reason to change his Singapore starting lineup after they posted 2-1 and 1-0 wins over Guam.
However, the introduction of defensive-minded veteran Shahdan Sulaiman into the midfield cannot be ruled out, potentially forming a three-man midfield and one of the attacking trio from the last fixture dropping out.
South Korea possible starting lineup:
Kim Seong-Gyu; Seol, Kim Min-Jae, Jung, Lee-Ki; Hong, Park; Lee Jae-Sung, Lee Kang-In, Hwang; Son
Singapore possible starting lineup:
Sunny; Kumar, Tan, Mahler; Suzliman, Harun, Shahiran, Van Huizen; Syahin, Fandi, Song
We say: South Korea 3-0 Singapore
While South Korea may be thinking about the trip to China, they must first take care of business here. Regardless of the strength of team that they field, the home side should have more than enough quality in their ranks to cruise to victory.
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