A “rough play alert” has been issued for the national soccer team ahead of their trip to China. The U23 national team has previously traveled to China and suffered a number of injuries, so caution is warranted.
However, Klinsmann’s attacking stars Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) are confident: “We won’t get caught up in the opponent’s rough play, we’re not afraid.”
Jürgen Klinsmann’s men will next face China in Shenzhen, China, on Sept. 19 at 9 p.m. ET in their second Asian qualifying match for the 2026 North and Central American World Cup.
After a 5-0 win over Singapore in Seoul on Sept. 16, South Korea will have a short break before returning to action on Sept. 18. The team will board an early morning flight to China on the 19th.
China is second in the group behind South Korea after coming from behind to win 2-1 against Thailand on Saturday.
While South Korea has a dominant record against China with 36 wins, 22 losses, 12 draws and two ties, the game in China is anything but easy.
South Korea lost 0-1 away to China on March 23, 2017, in the sixth round of the Russian Federation World Cup Final Qualifiers at the Hulong Stadium in Changsha, China. They conceded the game-winning header to Yudabao in the 35th minute. The match is remembered as the so-called “Changsha Disaster.
One thing to watch out for is the rough and tumble style of play that is unique to China. Notoriously known as “Shaolin soccer,” the Chinese play a crude, rough style that can leave opponents threatened with injury if things don’t go their way.
In fact, Hwang Sun-hong’s U23 team traveled to China ahead of the Hangzhou Asian Games this June and saw players like Uhm Won-sang and Cho Young-wook suffer serious injuries from rough tackles. The Chinese “killer tackle” kept Uhm Won-sang out of action for over a month. 무지개토토 도메인
Despite the concerns, the experienced Son Heung-min emphasized calm ahead of the trip to China.
“When you play soccer, every moment is rough. “Other Asian teams are going to be tough when they play us,” he said, “and we have to be tough when we play strong teams. I think it’s their tactic to make us angry and frustrated.”
“It’s important not to get caught up in those things,” Son added, “If we play our game, we’ll have a good game. We don’t have to be afraid of China.”