Low attendance for Korea’s friendly may stem from poor performance vs. Brazil

Coach Hong Myung-bo talks to the Korean national football team players during a training session held in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Oct. 13, a day ahead of the friendly match against Paraguay. [YONHAP]

 
Despite featuring all three of Korea’s top football stars — Son Heung-min of LAFC, Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain and Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich — Korea’s friendly against Paraguay on Tuesday evening appears unlikely to sell out.
 
The national team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, is set to face Paraguay at 8 p.m. at Seoul World Cup Stadium. However, as of 5:30 p.m., just two and a half hours before kickoff, a significant number of tickets remained available on the Korea Football Association’s (KFA) official ticketing platform, PlayKFA.
 
 
Roughly 43,800 seats were unsold, including premium, first, second and third-tier seats as of 5:30 p.m. With Seoul World Cup Stadium able to accommodate around 66,000 spectators, approximately 66 percent of the stadium remained empty. In other words, two out of every three seats were still unclaimed. Tickets for the Paraguay match range from 30,000 won ($21) for third-tier seats to 350,000 won for premium table seats.
 
Unlike typical matchdays, traffic around the stadium was unusually light in Sangam-dong. While on-site sales could boost attendance closer to kickoff — especially with the game taking place on a weekday evening — low advance bookings suggest the final crowd may reach only about 40,000.
 
Paraguay’s squad does include former Newcastle United midfielder Miguel Almirón, who now plays for Atlanta United in the United States, but the team lacks the star power of Brazil, whose lineup includes Vinícius Júnior and Casemiro. When Korea faced Brazil at the same venue four days earlier, 63,237 fans braved heavy rain during the Chuseok holidays — nearly filling the stadium.
 
Rather than factors like poor weather, unfamiliar opponents or postholiday spending fatigue, many fans appear to have been put off by Korea’s dismal 5-0 defeat to Brazil. The sight of swathes of empty seats reflects waning fan enthusiasm for both coach Hong and KFA chief Chung Mong-gyu. The KFA faced criticism last year over an opaque hiring process that led to Hong’s appointment.
 

The Paraguay football team members warm themselves up on Oct. 13 at the Goyang Stadium, Gyeonggi, a day before their friendly match against the Korean national team. [YONHAP]

 
In June, Lee Kang-in had publicly urged fans not to criticize the coach, calling him “our boss,” but even during the Brazil match, boos were heard from the stands. Hong said that he will do his best in the role that he’s been given during a press conference held on Monday.
 
The subdued atmosphere stands in stark contrast to the ticket frenzy of previous years, when Korea’s national team enjoyed K-pop-like popularity. As recently as 2018, match tickets were sometimes sold by scalpers. Today, the national team no longer holds the same appeal.
 
Hong’s first match in charge, a friendly against Palestine last September, drew 59,000 spectators but did not sell out. A June fixture against Kuwait this year saw attendance fall to the low 40,000s. In July, during the East Asian Cup held at Mir Stadium in Yongin and featuring mostly domestic-league players, attendance ranged from 4,426 to 18,418 across three games.
 

Coach Hong Myung-bo sits down for a press conference held in Goyang, Gyeonggi, on Oct. 13, a day ahead of the friendly match against Paraguay. [NEWS1]

 
“I didn’t even know there was a Korea match today,” one fan said Tuesday. “I turned off the Brazil game 20 minutes into the second half.” Another said, “I had a ticket but gave it to a friend, who then passed it on to someone at work.”
 
Before kickoff, a brief ceremony is scheduled to honor Son Heung-min for becoming Korea’s all-time leader in international match appearances. Former record-holder Cha Bum-kun is expected to personally present Son with a jersey. 
 
Tuesday’s match against Paraguay is more than just a test of recovery after the Brazil defeat. Korea also needs a win to hold onto its No. 23 spot in the FIFA rankings — the cutoff for Pot 2 placement ahead of the 2026 North and Central America World Cup draw.
 
Paraguay, ranked 37th by FIFA, sits 14 spots below Korea but has pulled off surprise wins against Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina in South American qualifiers. A loss could further intensify public backlash against Hong.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE HAY-JUNE, PARK RIN [[email protected]]