South Korea’s star players: what Bafana are up against on Thursday

South Africa will be up against a resilient and highly disciplined South Korea at Monterrey Stadium on Wednesday (7pm in Monterrey, Thursday, 3am SA time), who are also eyeing a place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup knockouts.

Bafana lost 2-0 against ball-playing Mexico in Mexico City in their Group A opener and drew 1-1 against physical Czechia last Thursday in Atlanta. In the ‘Taegeuk Warriors’ they face a team with tactical discipline when defending and breathtaking pace in transition.

South Korea have played to their traditional strengths at the 2026 World Cup, their growing experience on the world stage evident in some authoritative performances that have caught the eye.

Among their strengths is pace and stamina and they function well as a unit. Their weaknesses is that there is uncertainty over their ideal tactical formation and they are easily frustrated by ball-playing teams.

Always neat with clinical passing and superb organisation and quick attacking football, though perhaps lacking in the creative stakes, South Korea are hard to beat.

They progressed easily past the first round of Asian qualifying, topping their four-team group. They topped their six-team second-round group undefeated (six wins and four draws) to qualify.

They have some genuinely high-profile players who are or have been based at top European clubs who have won major trophies in glittering careers.

Here are some of their key players:

Kim Min-jae (defender)

Iqraam Rayners, Lyle Foster and Evidence Makgopa will have to be at their best to find holes in a defence that will be marshalled by the Bayern Munich anchor, who is regarded as one of the best defenders in the world.

The 29-year-old, 1.9m centreback’s rise through global football ranks has been impressive. After winning back-to-back league titles K-League titles with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the late 2010s Kim had a stint in China, then impressed at Turkey’s Fenerbahçe to earn a transfer to Serie A.

He was central to Napoli winning their first league title in 33 years in 2022-23, becoming the first Asian player to win Serie A Defender of the Season. He has won plenty more trophies since joining Bayern. A genuinely classy and pedigreed player.

Hwang In-beom (defensive midfielder)

A midfield battle between the Feyenoord star and Teboho Mokoena was the one to look forward to, but the Mamelodi Sundowns player’s suspension means he will have to deal with a Bafana midfield combination of Jayden Adams, Thalente Mbatha and Sphephelo Sithole.

His goal and assist saw him named Player of the Match in the 2-1 comeback win over Czechia.

Another Korean player with European pedigree, the 29-year-old won a Serbian SuperLiga title with Red Star Belgrade in 2023–24 before attracting the attention of Feyenoord.

Lee Kang-in (attacking midfielder)

South Korea’s strength is not keeping the ball for long periods, but they have a creative force in the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) midfielder Lee Kang-in, who helps them with control, assists and defence-splitting passes.

A product of Valencia CF’s, which he joined at 10 and where he won the 19 Copa del Rey, a further impressive stint at RCD Mallorca resulted in the transfer to PSG, where Lee has won three successive Ligue 1 titles and back-to-back Uefa Champions League tites.

Hwang Hee-chan (Striker)

Mbekezeli Mbokazi and Ime Okon must be switched on in the presence of the Wolverhampton Wanderers attacker who brings physical dominance and will be going all out for his first goal in the tournament.

Son Heung-min (winger/striker)

The former Tottenham Hotspur star is yet to get up and running in terms of goals at this tournament and the South African defence must be at their best to deal with him coming from the wings.

Hugely experienced and a proven goalscorer throughout his career, the 33-year-old now Los Angeles FC striker, who scored 127 goals in 33 games at Spurs, remains a wily presence in front of goal for his national team.