Soccer Football - International Friendly - South Korea v Brazil - Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea - October 10, 2025 South Korea's Son Heung-min during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
(Reuters) -South Korea must not make the error of showing bigger and more established teams too much respect in next year's World Cup, captain Son Heung-min warned.
South Korea, who were hammered 5-0 by five-times World Cup winners Brazil in an international friendly match last week, claimed a 2-0 home win over Paraguay on Tuesday.
"I think we have to pay attention to small details. And when we go up against strong teams, we have to think about how we can be more aggressive. For instance, I think we respected Brazil too much," Los Angeles FC forward Son told reporters.
"That had a big influence on the result. We now know it hurts to get punched like that, and we have to learn how to fight back ... After a big loss like the one we had, players can feel discouraged, and it can show on the field.
"To see my teammates put that behind and pounce on their chances, I felt really grateful as their captain. The biggest key was we did our thing and executed our plan, regardless of what the other team was trying to do."
South Korea qualified for next year's World Cup finals in North America earlier this year.
They have qualified for every World Cup since 1986, reaching the semi-finals in 2002 when they co-hosted the tournament with neighbours Japan.
During their run to the semi-finals in 2002, South Korea beat Portugal, Italy and Spain before they were stopped by Germany.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael Perry)
