When South Korea head coach Kim Eun-jung was preparing his players for the round of 16 match against Ecuador at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, he delivered a straightforward message: that this could be their last match in the tournament and there's no tomorrow. That sense of urgency paid off in South Korea's 3-2 victory in Santiago del Estero, northern Argentina, on Thursday, and South Korea will move on to take on Nigeria in the quarterfinals on Sunday, back in the same city. &

South Korea head coach Kim Eun-jung wants to ensure a travel delay in Argentina won't affect his team's upcoming knockout match at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. South Korea qualified for the last 16 at the tournament after playing all three group matches in Mendoza, western Argentina, over the past week. Their first knockout match is against Ecuador in Santiago del Estero in the northern part of the host country at 6 p.m. Thursday, or 6 a.m. Friday in Seoul. Kim's team had been schedul

Wins can be hard to come by for middle relievers, who do the grunt work, while starters and closers get more of the spotlight by picking up victories and saves. LG Twins rookie reliever You Young-chan picked up his first career win in his 24th appearance Tuesday night, after tossing 1 2/3 shutout innings against the Lotte Giants in a 3-1 victory. One may be tempted to say You is lucky to get the first win out of the way so early in his career. Dig a little deeper into his career, though, and you

South Korean football icon Son Heung-min came home Tuesday after completing a tumultuous Premier League season with Tottenham Hotspur, a campaign that featured a serious injury, multiple coaching changes and a significant personal milestone. Son arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, to great fanfare Tuesday afternoon. Judging by the reception, it would have been difficult to guess Son had just wrapped up an unproductive season, at both individual and club levels. Son made hist

South Korea will travel to Wales for a men's friendly football match in September, for their first appearance in Europe under new coach Jurgen Klinsmann. The Korea Football Association announced Monday afternoon that South Korea and Wales will square off at Cardiff City Stadium in the Welsh capital on Sept. 7. The kickoff time will be determined later, the KFA added. The match falls during the September international match window, as set by FIFA. The KFA said it is also trying to schedule a

With his team headed to the knockout phase of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, South Korea head coach Kim Eun-jung wants to see just how far the country can go. South Korea, as runners-up of Group F, will take on Ecuador in the round of 16 in Santiago del Estero at 6 p.m. Thursday local time, or 6 a.m. Friday in Seoul time. South Korea played Gambia to a goalless draw to close out the group stage Sunday in Mendoza, and ended up with five points from a win and two draws. Gambia won the group

With their knockout berth already secured, South Korea have closed out their group stage at the FIFA U-20 World Cup with a goalless draw against Gambia. South Korea finished in second place in Group F with five points, two back of Gambia, after the scoreless affair at the U-20 World Cup at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, western Argentina, on Sunday. As the Group F runners-up, South Korea will face Group B runners-up Ecuador in the round of 16. That match kicks off at 6 p.m. Thursday at

South Korea have clinched a spot in the knockout stage at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina even before playing their final group stage match. Japan's 2-1 loss to Israel in Group C in Mendoza, western Argentina, on Saturday (local time) ensured that South Korea will grab a ticket to the round of 16 from Group F regardless of their result against Gambia on Sunday. There are six groups of four nations in this tournament. The top two teams from each group, plus four best third-place teams

South Korea battled for a 2-2 draw against Honduras at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, as their knockout fate remains up in the air with one group match to go. South Korea netted two unanswered goals in the second half for the hard-fought draw in Group F at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, western Argentina, on Thursday. South Korea, who opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over France on Monday, sit in second place in the group with four points, two behind Gambia, who clinched a kn

Kim Ha-seong of the San Diego Padres has homered for the fifth time this season, reaching a career milestone in the process. Kim hit a solo home run to lead off the top of the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park in Washington on Wednesday. Kim's blast to the right-center field, off Nationals starter Trevor Williams, cut the Padres' deficit to 5-3. Kim drilled a 1-1 fastball from Williams for his first home run off a fastball this season. It was Kim's fi

Veteran pitcher Jang Won-jun needed 15 days to go from career win No. 128 to No. 129 in 2018. It then took the Doosan Bears left-hander five years to get to his 130th victory in the Korea Baseball Organization. That long-awaited win came Tuesday night in a "turn-back-the-clock" performance against the Samsung Lions at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. The 37-year-old allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings, but his Bears teammates gave him plenty of run support in a 7-5 victory

On the strength of her recent LPGA victory, South Korean star Ko Jin-young has returned to the top of the women's golf rankings. Ko climbed a spot to No. 1 in the latest rankings announced Monday, reclaiming the place she had last occupied on Oct. 24, 2022. Ko fell to as low as No. 5 in February this year but has since won twice on the LPGA Tour to claw her way back to the top spot. The women's world rankings evaluate players' performance over a rolling two-year period weighted in