Guadalupe: Captain Son Heung-min will begin South Korea's crucial Group A match of the FIFA World Cup on the bench on Wednesday. Son, who had been South Korea's striker in the two previous matches, was held out of the starting lineup for head coach Hong Myung-bo, who inserted Oh Hyeon-gyu into the forward spot in South Korea's final group stage match against South Africa at Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe, northeastern Mexico. The match kicks off at 7 p.m. Wednesday, or 10 a.m. Thursday (South Korean time).
According to Yonhap News Agency, Son did not score in either of the two earlier matches and was subbed out during the second half for Oh on both occasions. South Korea beat Czechia 2-1 on June 11 and fell to Mexico 1-0 a week later. Son is a goal away from becoming South Korea's all-time World Cup leading scorer with four. He is currently tied with two former players, Ahn Jung-hwan and Park Ji-sung.
In another lineup change from the Mexico match, Hwang Hee-chan is taking over from Lee Jae-sung as an attacking midfielder alongside Lee Kang-in. The backline remained unchanged for the third straight contest, with Kim Min-jae flanked by Lee Gi-hyuk and Lee Han-beom in the back-three formation. Kim will wear the captain's armband in Son's absence. Lee Tae-seok and Seol Young-woo have been reunited as wingbacks after starting together against Czechia. Hwang In-beom and Paik Seung-ho will form a midfield tandem for the third straight match.
South Korea will advance to the knockout stage with a win or a draw against South Africa. They may also get there with a loss as a third-place team, as long as Czechia don't beat Mexico in the other Group A match of the day.