Hong Names South Korea's 26: Son Captains a Europe-Heavy Squad, Castrop the Surprise Pick
Hong Myung-bo has confirmed South Korea's 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup. Captain Son Heung-min leads the line with 142 caps and 54 international goals, ten short of the Asian record. Bayern Munich's Kim Min-jae anchors the defence, Lee Kang-in (PSG) and Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) drive the midfield, and Borussia Mönchengladbach's Jens Castrop is the squad's most-discussed inclusion. Group A: Mexico, South Africa, Czechia.
S outh Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo has confirmed the final 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup. Captain Son Heung-min leads a list built around a deep European-based core spread across the Bundesliga, Premier League, Ligue 1, Eredivisie and Bundesliga, with the Taegeuk Warriors set to open in Group A against Mexico, with South Africa and Czechia to follow.
The headline number belongs to Son, who arrives at his fourth World Cup with 142 senior caps and 54 international goals to his name, ten short of the all-time Asian scoring record. Now operating at Los Angeles FC, he already holds the joint Korean record for World Cup goals with three and goes into the tournament one strike away from the outright national mark. Wolverhampton's Hwang Hee-chan (77 caps, 16 goals) and Midtjylland's Cho Gue-sung (42 caps, 10 goals) round out an attack that also includes Beşiktaş forward Oh Hyeon-gyu.
The spine is heavily European. Bayern Munich centre-back Kim Min-jae brings 77 caps and back-to-back Bundesliga titles to the defensive line. Alongside him in the back-line group of ten sit Red Star Belgrade's Seol Young-woo, Austria Wien's Lee Tae-seok, Midtjylland's Lee Han-beom and uncapped-as-recently-as-this-cycle Borussia Mönchengladbach defender Jens Castrop, who is the squad's most-discussed inclusion after his recent switch of allegiance. Three goalkeepers round out the back: Kim Seung-gyu, Jo Hyeon-woo and Song Bum-keun.
The midfield engine is Lee Jae-sung (Mainz, 103 caps), Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord) and Lee Kang-in (PSG, 46 caps, 11 goals). Lee Kang-in arrives off a third consecutive Ligue 1 title in Paris and is expected to take the lead creative role inside the final third, while Birmingham City's Paik Seung-ho, Stoke City's Bae Jun-ho, Swansea's Eom Ji-sung and Celtic's Yang Hyun-jun give Hong wide and box-to-box alternatives across an eight-man midfield list.
Group A is regarded as one of the more balanced top-half draws of the 48-team field. South Korea face co-host Mexico in the tournament opener's neighbourhood at Estadio Azteca, before group fixtures against South Africa and Czechia. The mix of European pedigree, a 33-year-old captain still posting high-end attacking output and the integration of a European-pathway centre-back in Castrop is what Hong is asking the world to take seriously when assessing Korea's knockout-stage ambitions.
English football audiences will recognise a meaningful share of the list. Captain Son arrives as the most-capped ex-Tottenham forward at this World Cup. Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan is the next-most familiar name in the Premier League, and the squad carries an EFL trio in Birmingham City's Paik Seung-ho, Stoke City's Bae Jun-ho and Swansea City's Eom Ji-sung. With Yang Hyun-jun at Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, six of the 26 played league football in Britain in 2025-26, which is the biggest single-pathway concentration in the squad.