South Korea thrash Vietnam 6-0 in friendly match

South Korea’s win was already predicted before the exhibition match at home against Vietnam.

The surprising thing is that coach Jurgen Klinsmann fielded perhaps the strongest lineup possible, with stars in Europe like captain Son Heung-min, midfielder Lee Kang-in, striker Hwang-Hee Chan and defender Kim Min-Jae, which showed how much they respected Vietnam.

All four players made major contribution to South Korea’s big win.

Kim opened the scoring early with a header in the fifth minute, before Hwang’s finish doubled the lead for the hosts.

Between these goals was Vietnam's most relevant chance in the first half, as Truong Tien Anh’s curling shot almost went in. Two minutes after South Korea’s second goal, Vietnam got another chance but Nguyen Dinh Bac took it over the bar despite being in a scoring position.

The second half saw South Korea maintaining their domination, and it only took them four minutes to make it 3-0. Son’s pass from the flank forced defender Vo Minh Trong to score an own goal. 10 minutes later, Son got himself a goal. After that, he was fouled and denied a relevant scoring chance by Bui Hoang Viet Anh, and the referee sent this defender off.

With 10 men left on the field, Vietnam conceded two more goals by Lee Kang-in and Jeong Woo-yeong. Vietnam almost got a consolation goal in the 73rd minute when Khuat Van Khang’s freekick hit the post.

Vietnam lost 0-2 in two previous friendly matches with China and Uzbekistan. The South Korea game was Vietnam's last exhibition match to prepare for the second round of 2026 World Cup qualifiers next month.