With the quadrennial sporting event set to kick off with an opening ceremony in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, on Sept. 19, South Korea will have its first match against Qatar on Sept. 15 before facing Saudi Arabia on Sept. 22.
Among the 15 participating countries divided into four groups for the football tournament, one group has three teams while the other three have four teams each. South Korea is in the three-team group, and the top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals.
South Korea will play only two group-stage matches, making its opening match against Qatar especially important.
Head coach Lee Min-sung has formed a strong squad with nine players playing in Europe, including Stoke City's Bae Jun-ho, Brentford's Kim Ji-soo, Newcastle United's Park Seung-soo and Tottenham Hotspur's Yang Min-hyeok. The 23-man roster also includes three wild-card players such as Gangwon FC's Lee Gi-hyuk, Celtic FC's Yang Hyun-jun and Swansea City's Eom Ji-sung.
The four players, Bae, Eom, Lee and Yang, were also included in South Korea's national team squad for this summer's World Cup in June.
Despite its seemingly formidable roster, South Korea cannot afford to be complacent after finishing fourth at the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia in January. It reached the semifinals but lost 1-0 to Japan, then drew 2-2 with Viet Nam after extra time in the third-place match before losing 7-6 on penalties.
At the time, host Saudi Arabia failed to advance from the group stage after finishing third in its group, while Qatar fared even worse, losing all three matches without scoring a goal.
These results make South Korea a potential favorite in the upcoming tournament, but the shorter group-stage format leaves little room for mistakes.
South Korea took gold at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, the 2018 Games in Jakarta-Palembang and the 2022 Games in Hangzhou, and will now look to secure a fourth consecutive title in men's football.
AJP Takeaways
• South Korea will face Qatar on Sept. 15 and Saudi Arabia on Sept. 22 in the three-team Group D at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, with only the top two teams advancing to the quarterfinals.
• Head coach Lee Min-sung has named a 23-man squad featuring nine Europe-based players and three wild-card selections, giving South Korea one of the strongest squads in the tournament.
• South Korea is seeking a fourth consecutive Asian Games men's football title after winning gold at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 Games, but its fourth-place finish at the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in January shows it cannot afford to be complacent.
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