Captain Son Heung-min says poor pitches for home matches have hurt South Korea’s 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.
South Korean authorities have said they will inspect elite-level football pitches across the country after national skipper Son Heung-min blamed poor playing surfaces for hurting their World Cup hopes.
Bad pitches have been a running theme in South Korean football, with former Manchester United and England forward Jesse Lingard, now at FC Seoul, also weighing in on the debate.
Two home World Cup qualifiers this month were moved away from Seoul because of the state of the capital stadium’s turf, but Son also criticised the replacement venues.
“When we’re at home, we’re supposed to enjoy the best playing conditions possible but things have not improved at all,” Son told reporters after Tuesday’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Jordan in Suwon.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said on Thursday it will conduct a thorough inspection of pitches at all 27 K League stadiums starting in April.
Officials will also look at how other countries, including Japan, maintain their playing surfaces.
“The condition of a stadium’s pitch directly affects not only player performance but also injury prevention and spectator satisfaction,” a ministry official said.
“Through this inspection, we aim to identify practical solutions for improving football pitch conditions and strengthen cooperation with the league, clubs and stadium operators to establish a sustainable management system.”
Following two home draws in the past week, against Jordan and in Guyang against Oman, Tottenham forward Son said: “I know we can play better than this but when conditions on our home soil get in the way, then I wonder where we should get our home advantage.”
South Korea are still top of Group B with 16 points as they target the 2026 World Cup in North America, but the successive draws meant they squandered the chance to seal their place at next year’s tournament.
Their final two matches in the qualifying campaign in June are away to Iraq, who could close the gap on the leaders to one point with a win, and at home to Kuwait.
Jordan are second in the table with 13 points and face Oman and Iraq in their final games.
Iraq’s own hopes of qualification were hit by the late comeback by Palestine in a 2-1 defeat last Thursday.
Former England international Lingard, who moved to the K League last year, last month tripped over a chunk of turf while playing at home for his club, leading to his criticism.
