South Korea will be at their 9th World Cup in a row, a fantastic achievement for a nation where the sport continues to develop rapidly. More often than not the Koreans crash out of the group stage. The obvious exception was their 4th placed finish in 2002 when they co-hosted the tournament. Replicating that looks almost impossible this time around but the Koreans are not to be underestimated. Their marquee player is 25-year-old Son Heung-min who will be playing in his second World Cup.  Surely destined for an illustrious career, Son, despite his age has already been named Korean Player of the Year three times and Asian Player of the Year on two occasions. Son has produced some dazzling performances in both the Premier League and Bundesliga so there is no doubt he can do the same against similar opposition in Russia. Swansea’s Ki Sung-Yeung is Korea’s captain and most experienced player. The Premier League veteran is a consistent performer who is tidy in possession. He will be certainly given more responsibility than he has at club level. Hwang Hee-Chan is the emerging star of Korean football and is one of the talented finds of the Red Bull football family, with no K- league experience, South Korean supporters will be excited to learn more about the forward at the World Cup.

Head Coach: Shin Tae-yong

Population: 51 million

Appearances: 10

Best:4th 2002

How they Qualified: After cruising through the second round of Asian qualifiers by winning all eight of their fixtures and not conceding a single goal South Korea found it a bit more difficult in the next round. Despite still qualifying in an automatic second place in Group A the Korean performances were not convincing and they suffered losses to Qatar, China and Syria. In fact, it was only a pair of 0-0 scorelines one the final two match-days that confirmed their qualification for Russia. Because of these lacklustre performances, German manager Uli Stielike was sacked as the Koreans realized they needed new life in their football.

Star Players: Son Heung-Min(Tottenham), Ki Sung-Yueng(Swansea), Koo Ja-Cheol(Augsburg), Hwang Hee-Chan(Red Bulls Salzburg), Kwon Chang-Hoon(Dijon)

Wildcard:Wildcard: Lee Seung Woo- the former FC Barcelona prospect was a shock inclusion to the 28 Man provisional squad called by head coach Shin Tae-young. The attacking midfielder was highly rated at the renowned La Masia academy but left Spain for the Italian Serie A in a bid to play professional first-team football. Despite a tough season that saw his team Hellas Verona relegated, the youngster showed flashes of his skill, enough to earn him an invitation to the South Korean World Cup camp. Big games performances in last year’s u20 World Cup also didn’t do the player’s chances any harm. If he manages to make the cut for the senior event his mesmerizing dribbling could be the ace in the pack for the Taegeuk Warriors

Legend:Park Ji Sung