Son Heung-min, 33, will captain and start for South Korea in their 2026 World Cup Group A opener against the Czech Republic on June 11 local time (June 12 Singapore time), the team’s coach Hong Myung-bo confirmed [1, 2, 3, 4]. Son dismissed speculation that this tournament would be his last, saying, "I have never said with words it will be my last World Cup. That will be my choice" [1]. He added, "My mindset is similar, whether it’s my first or last World Cup. I feel like a child again... The most important thing is to do my job. People can say whatever they want, and I will choose my path wisely" [3].

Son transferred from Tottenham Hotspur to Los Angeles FC in 2025 but endured a scoring slump last season with just 2 goals in 21 appearances [1, 3]. Despite that, he remains a key player with 144 caps for South Korea, 39 more than the next most capped player Lee Jae-Sung, and is two goals shy of South Korea's all-time scoring record of 58 [5, 4, 6].

Coach Hong, in his second stint leading South Korea, said the team has gained experience since their 2014 World Cup group-stage exit and feels ready for the challenges ahead. "This is my second World Cup as head coach, I'm very honored. In 2014 we experienced failure but until today we have accumulated lot of experience. We are well prepared," he said [1]. He added, "I think all our players feel they have become acclimatised to high altitude and are ready" [1]. Son agreed, "We have three matches and every match will be very important we will play for our life" [2].

South Korea’s lineup against the Czech Republic includes key defender Kim Min-jae anchoring the back three. Cho Yu-min, sidelined with a foot injury, is ruled out of the match [5, 4]. The Czech Republic started inexperienced midfielder Alexandr Sojka in midfield for the opener [5, 4].

South Korea’s group also includes matches against co-host Mexico and South Africa after the opener. Son, returning for his fourth World Cup, expressed excitement at competing again on football’s biggest stage: "Whether it's my first World Cup or fourth World Cup, I feel like a young boy again. This is the stage of dreams" [6].

South Korea has yet to win their opening match in the past three World Cups and aims to improve on prior results, which included group-stage exits in 2014 and 2018 and a narrow round of 16 appearance in 2022 [6].