The South Korean national football team, led by interim coach Robert Moreno, drew 0-0 with Venezuela in a friendly match after a fierce battle.
Moreno’s side drew 0-0 with Venezuela in the match held at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium on October 2. Son Heung-min, who tied with Cha Bum-kun with his 58th A-match goal against Uruguay, aimed to achieve a new record with his 59th goal but had to look forward to the next match.
Coach Moreno fielded a starting lineup with Son Heung-min and Oh Hyeon-gyu as the twin strikers. The midfield featured Hwang In-beom and Park Jin-seop, with Kim Min-su and Lee Kang-in, who showed good performance after being substituted in the Uruguay match, on the left and right wings. Hwang In-beom made his first start since Moreno’s appointment, while Lee Jae-sung, who started the previous two matches, began on the bench.
The backline included Kim Min-jae, Lee Han-beom, and Jo Hyeon-taek (Ulsan) and Seol Young-woo (Augsburg), who were included in the starting lineup for the first time amid Lee Tae-seok’s poor form. Goalkeeper Song Beom-geun (Jeonbuk) made his first start under Moreno’s system. Although Kim Seung-gyu, known for his build-up play, started the previous two matches, a change was made due to criticism of his performance in the Uruguay match, where he conceded a goal.
Venezuela, led by Oswaldo Viscarrondo, ranked 48th in the FIFA rankings, demonstrated formidable strength. The match began with rapid transitions and intense forward pressure from both teams. South Korea combined forward pressure with a sitting defense when Venezuela advanced but lost control to Venezuela’s forward pressure as Song Beom-geun’s backward passes became unstable from the 10th minute of the first half. Kim Min-su and Son Heung-min’s bold dribbling attempts were also stifled by Venezuela’s midfield pressure.
Venezuela capitalized on South Korea’s defensive gaps with precise build-up play. South Korea managed to avoid conceding until around the 30th minute of the second half but struggled to create smooth build-up sequences.
In the closing minutes of the first half, South Korea created a decisive attacking move. Seol Young-woo dribbled past the opponent’s defense on the right side and delivered a cross, which Oh Hyeon-gyu headed down. Jo Hyeon-taek, who had infiltrated the left side, took a left-footed shot, but it deflected off a defender. In the ensuing corner kick, Oh Hyeon-gyu tried to head the ball into the net after clashing with the goalkeeper, but the referee called a charging foul by Oh Hyeon-gyu, leaving the score 0-0 at halftime.
In the second half, South Korea intensified forward pressure and mixed long passes into their build-up to regain control. In the 5th minute, Oh Hyeon-gyu delivered a low cross from the right flank, which Son Heung-min redirected with his right foot, but the shot went straight to the Venezuelan goalkeeper—South Korea’s first valid shot of the match.
South Korea recovered possession by combining short passes with long balls into the opponent’s defensive spaces but failed to produce decisive passes or shots in the final third. From around the 10th minute, Venezuela regained their precise attacking build-up, leading to intense exchanges between the two sides.
Amid the tight flow, Moreno introduced Lee Dong-gyeong and Kim Tae-hyun, replacing Oh Hyeon-gyu and Kim Min-su in the 21st minute. The formation shifted from 4-4-2 to 5-2-3, with a center-back advancing aggressively during attacks.
However, the tactical change did not yield results, and South Korea gradually fell under pressure from Venezuela’s attacks. In the 25th minute, a powerful Venezuelan shot hit the crossbar off a South Korean defender, and the follow-up shot was saved by goalkeeper Song Beom-geun, narrowly avoiding a goal.
Moreno made a mass substitution in the 34th minute, bringing on Choi Joon, Jung Seung-won, Kim Tae-hyun, and Park Tae-jun while replacing Kim Min-jae, Seol Young-woo, Jo Hyeon-taek, and Hwang In-beom. Kim Min-jae, who was substituted out, had a heated conversation with Moreno before taking off his cleats on the bench, showing visible frustration.
In the 35th minute, Lee Kang-in attempted a powerful right-footed shot from the right side of the penalty box but sent it over the crossbar. In the 39th minute, Moreno substituted attackers Oh Se-hun and Kim Bong-su for Park Jin-seop and Son Heung-min. With both Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae off the field, Lee Kang-in wore the captain’s armband for the first time in his senior national team career.
Until the final whistle, both teams exchanged rapid transitions and intense pressure, but neither could break the deadlock. In added time, Lee Dong-gyeong received a good pass and took a powerful left-footed shot, but the Venezuelan goalkeeper saved it, and the match ended 0-0.
With this result, interim coach Robert Moreno recorded one win, one draw, and one loss in his first three matches. Moreno’s team will face Uzbekistan in Yongin on October 6 for the final match of their four-game A-match series in September–October.
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