South Korea vs Ecuador: Son captains as Moreno makes debut in Suwon

Friendly in Suwon

South Korea's national football team played a friendly against Ecuador at Suwon World Cup Stadium on September 24, kicking off at 8 p.m. local time. According to South Korean outlet 매일경제 (Maeil Business Newspaper), this was South Korea's first senior international match since the 2026 World Cup in North America. The game marked the debut of new head coach Roberto Moreno, while veteran forward Son Heung-min (34), who now plays for Los Angeles FC, wore the captain's armband.

Ecuador — South America's surprise package

Per 매일경제, Ecuador is regarded as a dark horse from South America after stunning Germany with a 2-1 win in the World Cup group stage. In South American qualifying, which involved 10 nations, Ecuador finished its last 18 matches with eight wins, two draws and two losses (29 points), placing second behind Argentina.

Lineups

South Korea set up in a 4-4-2 formation: Son Heung-min partnered Oh Hyun-kyu in attack, with Lee Jae-sung and Park Jin-seop in central midfield and Jung Seung-won and Song Min-gyu on the flanks. Kim Min-jae and Lee Han-beom formed the central defensive pairing, with Cho Hyun-taek and Seol Young-woo at full-back and Kim Seung-gyu in goal. Baek Seung-ho, Hwang Hee-chan, Kim Min-soo, Lee Dong-kyung and Oh Se-hoon were among the substitutes. Lee Kang-in was left out of the squad entirely, alongside Hwang In-beom, Cho Kyu-sung and Koo Sung-yoon.

Match statistics

According to figures compiled by the BBC, South Korea dominated possession, 58% to Ecuador's 42%, and completed far more passes (430 to 306, with 87.7% accuracy versus 83.7%). Ecuador, however, was more direct in attack, registering nine shots to South Korea's seven (both sides had three on target). Ecuador also won more corners (4-2) and more aerial duels (5-4). South Korea's goalkeeper, Kim Seung-gyu, made four saves compared to one for his Ecuadorian counterpart. The match was physical, with South Korea committing 16 fouls to Ecuador's 18, resulting in four and five yellow cards respectively. None of the sources specify the final score of the match.