S. Korea coach seeks communication, leadership skills from players in World Cup qualifying match With changes inevitable on his backline due to a key absence, South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo said Wednesday he will look for communication and leadership skills from his defenders in an upcoming World Cup qualifying match against Oman. South Korea, world No. 23, will host 80th-ranked Oman at 8 p.m. Thursday at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul. The team will be without their top

The Kia Tigers will eye their second straight South Korean baseball title as the 2025 season of changes opens Saturday with five games across the country. The Korea Baseball Organization will have its earliest start to a season this weekend, with the Tigers hosting the NC Dinos at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, 270 kilometers south of Seoul, to begin their Korean Series title defense. The Tigers will try to become the first team to repeat as champions since the 2015-16 Doosan Bears. The

San Francisco Giants center Lee Jung-hoo is not expected to be out long term after imaging on his back came back negative. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday that an MRI on Lee's tight back did not reveal any structural damage. Although there is no timetable yet on his return, the South Korean player will not likely miss an extended period of time. Lee underwent testing Monday after missing weekend action in spring training due to back discomfort. He had been set to start Saturday's ga

South Korea will try to inch closer to a spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup this week without their best defender. South Korea will face Oman at 8 p.m. Thursday at Goyang Stadium in Goyang, some 20 kilometers northwest of Seoul, in the third round of the Asian World Cup qualification. Through six matches, South Korea sit atop the Group B table with 14 points from four wins and two draws, three ahead of Iraq and five clear of Jordan, South Korean's next opponent on March 25. With the top two teams f

South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo on Monday fired shots at Bayern Munich for their failure to protect the key national team defender Kim Min-jae. South Korea will host Oman on Thursday and then Jordan on March 25 in the third round of the Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. South Korea can grab a World Cup spot by winning both matches, but they will have to do so without Kim, who has been sidelined with left Achilles tendinitis. Hong put Kim on his 28-man squad last Monday but cu

Yasiel Puig, former National League All-Star back for a second tour of duty with the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization, has not played for a week in the ongoing preseason due to some muscle spasms. With the regular season just five days, though, the Heroes' manager, Hong Won-ki, said Monday he will not rush the Cuban outfielder back into action. "He's able to do some light training but there's absolutely no point in trying to force him back into the lineup," Hong told reporters at

FC Seoul defender Kim Ju-sung was picked Monday to replace injured Bayern Munich center back Kim Min-jae for South Korea's two upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. The Korea Football Association made the announcement two days after cutting Kim Min-jae from the 28-man squad due to left Achilles tendinitis. Kim Ju-sung, 24, has earned two caps so far. He was on the squad for two World Cup qualifying matches in October but did not see any action then. His most recent action for the national

Former champion Kim Si-woo bounced back from a disastrous third round to finish as the only South Korean with an under-par score at The Players Championship in Florida. Kim shot a four-under 68 in the final round of the $25 million tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Sunday (local time), to finish at one-under overall. The 2017 champion had shot a 78 in the third round but recorded five birdies and an eagle Sunday for his best round of the tournament. By tying for 38th p

South Korean short track star Choi Min-jeong claimed gold in the women's 1,500 meters at the world championships in China on Sunday. Choi held off Courtney Sarault of Canada for South Korea's first gold medal at the International Skating Union World Short Track Championships at Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing. Another South Korean skater, Kim Gil-li, got the bronze medal. This was Choi's 13th career world title. She has been the world overall champion four times, most recently in 2022. Choi ha

South Korean speed skater Lee Seung-hoon has claimed his first world championships medal in nine years at age 37. Lee captured the silver medal in the men's mass start at the International Skating Union World Speed Skating Single Distances Championships at Hamar Olympic Hall in Hamar, Norway, on Saturday, with a time of 7:56.52. Andrea Giovannini of Italy beat Lee by 0.05 second for the gold. Bart Swings of Belgium finished third in 7:56.69. This was Lee's first world championships medal since t

Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae will not be able to play for South Korea in upcoming World Cup qualifying matches due to a nagging Achilles injury. The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced Saturday it has dropped the center back from the men's national squad due to Achilles tendinitis. South Korea will host Oman next Thursday and then Jordan on March 25 in the third round of the Asian qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. "We decided Kim Min-jae would need to take time to receive t