South Korea 3-0 Ecuador — Robert Moreno's reign starts with a convincing win as Son Heung-min scores from a tight-angle free-kick [International Friendly]

2026-09-24

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South Korea: Oh Hyeon-gyu 54' / Son Heung-min 58' / Lee Dong-gyeong 86'

International Friendly: South Korea hosted Ecuador and came away with a 3-0 win.

Robert Moreno's first match in charge of South Korea ended in a 3-0 win. Oh Hyeon-gyu, Son Heung-min and substitute Lee Dong-gyeong scored in the second half, while Marcelo Gallardo's Ecuador lost on his debut.

Korea beat Ecuador 3-0 as Moreno's era begins with a win and Gallardo's with a defeat

South Korea beat Ecuador 3-0 in an international friendly at Suwon World Cup Stadium on 24 September. It was the first match for Robert Moreno, appointed interim head coach on 1 September, and after a group-stage exit at the World Cup in North America and the resignation of Hong Myung-bo, Korea began their fresh start with a comfortable win. The first half ended goalless, but Oh Hyeon-gyu opened the scoring nine minutes after the break, Son Heung-min added a second from a direct free-kick four minutes later, and substitute Lee Dong-gyeong made it three on 86 minutes. The crowd was 33,593. Ecuador, under Marcelo Gallardo since only 13 September, were without Moisés Caicedo, Piero Hincapié and other regulars through injury, and lost his first game in charge.

Line-ups — Moreno's promised 4-4-2 against Ecuador's 4-2-3-1

Moreno went with the 4-4-2 he had announced at his press conference. Kim Seung-gyu of FC Tokyo started in goal behind Cho Hyun-taek, Kim Min-jae, Lee Han-beom and Seol Young-woo from left to right. Song Min-kyu played on the left of midfield, Lee Jae-sung and Park Jin-seob in the centre and Jeong Seung-won on the right, with Son Heung-min and Oh Hyeon-gyu up front. Lee Kang-in, Hwang In-beom and Cho Gue-sung were left out of the matchday squad, and Hwang Hee-chan started on the bench. Ecuador lined up in a 4-2-3-1: Hernán Galíndez in goal; Pervis Estupiñán, Willian Pacho, Jackson Porozo and Ángelo Preciado across the back; Alan Franco and Pedro Vite as the double pivot; Nilson Angulo, John Yeboah and Keny Arroyo behind Jordy Caicedo.

First half — plenty of the ball, few clear chances, and Kim Min-jae's header saved

Korea had the ball from the start. Jeong Seung-won shot from distance after two minutes, and Son tried his luck from range on 11 and 22 minutes, but the new shape was still finding its rhythm and Korea rarely got into the penalty area. Ecuador answered on the counter, and Arroyo's left-footed effort on 29 minutes flew just over. It was a scrappy game: Korea picked up two yellow cards and Ecuador four before half-time. The best chance came in first-half stoppage time, when Kim Min-jae headed Jeong's cross towards goal and Galíndez saved, so the teams went in at 0-0.

Two goals in four minutes — Oh's deflected opener and Son's free-kick from a tight angle

The breakthrough came on 54 minutes. Kim Min-jae played a pass forward, Song Min-kyu let it run, and Oh Hyeon-gyu hit a right-footed shot from outside the box that deflected off a defender and looped over the goalkeeper — the first goal of the Moreno era, from the Beşiktaş striker. Four minutes later the captain produced something special. From a free-kick deep on the left, close to the corner flag, Son went straight for goal with his right foot and curled it into the far top corner from an almost impossible angle to make it 2-0. According to Korean media it was his 57th international goal, one short of Cha Bum-kun's all-time record of 58.

The substitutes deliver — Lee Dong-gyeong seals it, Kim Seung-gyu makes three saves

Moreno made four changes at once on 65 minutes, sending on Hwang Hee-chan, Kim Tae-hyeon, Kim Bong-soo and Lee Tae-seok, then introduced Cho Wi-je, Kim Min-su and Oh Se-hun ten minutes later — a senior debut for Kim Min-su. On 85 minutes Son made way for Lee Dong-gyeong, and the third goal followed almost immediately: Oh Se-hun laid the ball off, Kim Bong-soo slipped a through ball in behind, and Lee finished low into the bottom left corner with his left foot. At the other end Kim Seung-gyu saved from Yeboah on 59 minutes and twice from Riquelme Angulo, on 70 and 81 minutes, to keep a clean sheet. Korea finished with 10 shots to 7, five on target to three, and 60 per cent of possession.

Next up — Korea host Uruguay on 28 September, Ecuador face Japan in the Kirin Cup on 1 October

Korea play Uruguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on 28 September, and Moreno is expected to make wholesale changes. Uruguay lost 3-1 to Japan in Miyagi on the same night, and the question will be how much the fringe players can show against them. Ecuador travel on to Japan, where they meet the hosts in the Kirin Cup 2026 semi-final at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama on 1 October — Gallardo's next chance to win his first game.

See the Japan vs Ecuador predicted lineups