South Korea maintains a possession-heavy tactical identity supported by a reliance on individual brilliance. With 72.9% possession, the team prioritizes control, though their offensive output remains heavily concentrated on Son Heung-min. This balanced approach suggests they are well-equipped to dictate tempo against lower-ranked opponents.

Playing identity · system ↔ individual × direct ↔ possession

South Korea is plotted from possession share and top-scorer concentration. PPDA and recent form are supporting context when present.

+Recent form8 · 3W 3D 2L

2026-06-25World Cup 2026AKOR 0-1 RSAL

2026-06-19World Cup 2026AKOR 0-1 MEXL

2026-06-12World Cup 2026HKOR 2-1 CZEW

2025-06-10World Cup 2026 qualifying · AFCHKOR 4-0 KUWW

2025-06-05World Cup 2026 qualifying · AFCAKOR 2-0 IRQW

2025-03-25World Cup 2026 qualifying · AFCHKOR 1-1 JORD

2025-03-20World Cup 2026 qualifying · AFCHKOR 1-1 OMAD

2024-11-19World Cup 2026 qualifying · AFCAKOR 1-1 PLED

International friendly matches are excluded

N2 · Scoring

open play 88%

How they score

South Korea relies heavily on open play to generate their scoring output. With nearly 90% of their goals originating from open play, the team demonstrates a clear preference for building attacks through active movement rather than set-piece situations. Their efficiency in these scenarios consistently outperforms the field average.

Goal source · share of play-type-classified goals

88.2%

Open play88.2%Counter3.9%Corner5.9%Free kick2%

8% set piececorner + free kick

Effectiveness · conversion by source vs benchmark

Open play22%avg 20%+2 pts

47 goals from 215 shots.

Set piece4.4%avg 4.5%0 pts

4 goals from 90 shots.

benchmark average higher than field by 3+ pts lower than field by 3+ pts

Goal-source shares use non-own-goal rows with source_class values; own goals are excluded.

+Top scorers · still a threat?100% intact

100% of listed scorer goals come from players still marked in the squad.

Son Heung-min	in squad	13 · 23%
Kang-in Lee	in squad	8 · 14%
Hwang Hee-chan	in squad	5 · 9%
Jae-sung Lee	in squad	5 · 9%

N3 · Conceding

open play 73%

How they concede

South Korea is most vulnerable to goals originating from open play. With 73% of classified goals coming from open play, opponents may find success by maintaining high-tempo ball movement to break down their defensive structure. While set-piece conversion rates are notably higher than the field average, the sheer volume of open-play concessions remains their primary defensive concern.

Conceded goal source · share of play-type-classified goals

72.7%

13.6%

Open play72.7%Counter4.5%Corner9.1%Free kick13.6%

23% set piece concededcorner + free kick

Effectiveness · conceded conversion by source vs benchmark

Open play13%avg 20%-6 pts

17 conceded from 129 shots faced.

Set piece13%avg 4.5%+9 pts

5 conceded from 38 shots faced.

benchmark average lower than field by 3+ pts higher than field by 3+ pts

Conceded source shares use non-own-goal rows with source_class values.

N4 · Big moments

falls short · -0.36 GD residual

Better than their rating?

South Korea's performance consistently falls short of their Elo-based expectations. While the team demonstrates higher reliability than the field median, their historical goal difference residual of -0.36 suggests they struggle to consistently convert their rating into match-winning margins.

Over-performance DNA · beats-its-rating × reliability, the tournament field

KORTournament field · 48solid line = rating-neutral · dashed = field-median reliability100 Elo ~= -0.37 goals

+Biggest over- & under-performances30 matches

Residual = actual goal difference minus what the Elo gap predicted.

vs GER · 2018-06-27	GD +2 vs exp -0.85	+2.85
vs KUW · 2025-06-10	GD +4 vs exp +2.02	+1.98
vs CHN · 2023-11-21	GD +3 vs exp +1.51	+1.49
vs JOR · 2024-02-06	GD -2 vs exp +1.39	-3.39
vs RSA · 2026-06-24	GD -1 vs exp +1.30	-2.30
vs MAS · 2024-01-25	GD 0 vs exp +2.13	-2.13