Captain Son Heung-min scored the go-ahead goal late in the second half, as Korea beat Oman 3-1 for their first win in the current World Cup qualification round in Muscat on Tuesday.
Son broke the 1-1 deadlock with a thunderous strike from outside the box in the 82nd minute at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in the teams’ second Group B match of the third round in the Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Tottenham Hotspur captain assisted on Korea’s two other goals.
Korea, world No. 23, began the third round with a goalless draw against 96th-ranked Palestine in Seoul last Thursday.
Against No. 76 Oman, Korea opened the scoring in the 10th minute with Hwang Hee-chan’s goal, before defender Jung Seung-hyun was charged with an own goal during the first-half stoppage time.
Son then put Korea in front again with his 49th international goal and set up Joo Min-kyu’s stoppage-time goal that rounded out the scoring.
“I think it was a tough game. But we knew that in the second half, we were going to have more chances,” Son said in a televised interview afterward. “In 한국을 the first game, we created so many chances but we weren’t clinical enough. Today, we were clinical and the lads played a great game. I am very pleased about the result.”
This was the first win for head coach Hong Myung-bo in his second stint on the Korean bench. He previously coached the Taegeuk Warriors from 2013 to 2014, and was brought back in July this year under controversial circumstances.
