Team profile: South Korea

Striker Son Heung-Min and midfielder Ki Sung-Yeung could hold the keys to South Korea’s success this time around. Ki can control the speed of the game and is known for his precise passes and lethal free kicks. Son’s speed and ability to create space for himself could give the Koreans a boost, but the 21-year-old has little international experience, so it remains to be seen how he’ll react in the brightest spotlight of all.

Asia’s most successful team experienced its best World Cup run on home turf in 2002. In a tournament it co-hosted with Japan, South Korea played its most inspired soccer ever under Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, going undefeated with two wins and a draw to win the group. In the knockout stage, they took out Italy in dramatic fashion, scoring in the 88th minute to tie the game at 1–1 and send it to extra time, before sealing the victory in the 117th minute. In another nail-biter, they played Spain to a 0–0 draw before winning 5–3 on penalties to become the first Asian team to ever make the World Cup semifinals, where they finally fell to Germany, 1–0.

South Korea comes into the tournament as the 57th-ranked team in the world, according to FIFA. There are only 32 teams in the World Cup, so you do the math. Only Australia ranks behind the Koreans among the teams that made it to the World Cup, so not much is expected.

In perhaps the most evenly matched group in the tournament, South Korea has just about as good a chance as any team to make it out of the first round, especially if it starts clicking at the right time. Still, a 2–1 loss to Tunisia in Seoul in its final tune-up match before heading to Brazil does not inspire much confidence. 

Both Koreas have made big runs in the World Cup. In addition to the South's memorable 2002 tournament, North Korea advanced to the quarterfinals in 1966, beating Italy along the way, before falling to Portugal — a nation that holds a unique place in Korean soccer history. In 1991, North Korea and South Korea sent a unified team to the U-20 World Cup in Portugal — an experiment that has been long debated since, but has not been repeated.