Historic First Men’s Match at Yongin Mir Stadium: Korea vs. Iraq World Cup Qualifier!

The Men’s Game is held for the first time at the Yongin Mir Stadium
Training in Yongin on the 13th and 14th… Players are satisfied with the condition of the turf

Lee Kang-in (right) got to know Yongin Mir Stadium during a friendly match with Argentina in July 2021 ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 2021.7.13 News 1
Hong Myung-Boho, who returned home with a light foot after defeating Jordan on the road, aims to adapt to an unfamiliar home stadium for the match against Iraq, which is two a day away.

The national football team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, will play the 4th match against Iraq in Group B of the 2026 FIFA World Cup North and Central America Asia 3rd qualifying round at the Yongin Mir Stadium at 8pm on the 15th.

Originally, the Korea Football Association planned to host the Iraq match at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, but due to grass problems, the match was moved to the Yongin Mir Stadium.

Due to a combination of heat waves, performance rent, and poor management, the grass at the Seoul World Cup Stadium was in poor condition, which also affected the players’ performance. Korea got off to a poor start with a 0-0 draw with Palestine in the first match of the third preliminary round held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium last month, Captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham) said, “ I had difficulty handling the ball because the grass was in bad condition. “I hope this problem will be improved,” he said, raising his voice.

The Taegeuk Warriors welcomed the opportunity to play at the Yongin Mir Stadium, where the grass is in better condition than the Seoul World Cup Stadium. The national team ‘ace’ Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) said, “I am grateful to play at the Yongin Mir stadium, where the grass is in good condition. “I will show better play in return for this,” he promised.

The environment was better than a month ago, but the challenge of quickly adjusting to an unfamiliar living room was also given.

Overview of Yongin Mir Stadium (provided by Yongin City) ⓒ News1

The Iraq match is the first time that a men’s A football match will be held at the Yongin Mir stadium, which opened in 2018. There were almost no national team matches or even professional team matches.

K League 2 (2nd Division) Suwon Samsung has been using Yongin Mir Stadium as a temporary home stadium since last August due to turf repairs at the current Suwon World Cup Stadium, but the national team, which includes players from abroad and K League. Players 1 (1st Division), I don’t have much experience playing here.

In July 2021, ahead of the finals of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Olympic team played a friendly match against Argentina at the Yongin Mir Stadium, and three players, including Lee Kang-in, Seol Young-woo (Zvezda), and Dong- kyung Lee (Gimcheon), who played at the time, a short experience.

For this reason, coach Hong Myung-bo decided to train at the Yongin Mir stadium for two days on the 13th and 14th to change.

The national team had been training at a stadium close to where they live, but the day before the match, they visited the stadium where the match was being held and completed the their last training. This is because no additional training was needed to adapt to the Seoul World Cup Stadium, where several matches were played while reducing player fatigue as much as possible. But this time things have changed.

As the match against Iraq is a very important game that will give us the green light to progress to the finals of the 11th consecutive World Cup, we are preparing diligently from start to finish the end Among them, changing to a stadium is a big job.

Lee Jae-seong, who scored the first goal, and Oh Hyun-gyu, who scored the second goal, scored the first goals in the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup Asia 3rd Group B 3rd leg match between Korea and Jordan which was held at the Amman International Stadium in Jordan on the 10th (local time). 2024.10.10 News 1

Korea and Iraq, who have 2 wins and 1 draw (7 points), are ranked 1st and 2nd in Group B by goal difference (Korea +4, Iraq +2). Behind them were Jordan (4 points), Oman (3 points), Kuwait (2 points), and Palestine (1 point).

In the third preliminary round, which is the final preliminary round, the first and second place winners from each group will advance to the finals of the World Cup. The 3rd and 4th placed teams in the group will get the last chance in the 4th preliminary round of the ‘last game’, but to easily win a ticket to North Korea, Central America and the United States, they must have ranked among the top two teams in the third starting group.

If Korea beat a tough Iraqi team, their hopes of progressing to the final will increase as they remain firmly at the top of the group.

Coach Hong Myung-bo said, “Every aspect of the 2-0 win against Jordan was better than the previous two games in the third preliminary round,” and expressed his willingness to win, saying, “I will forget about the victory against Jordan. and prepare well for the Iraq game.”

(Seoul = News 1)