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Robert Moreno, head coach of the South Korean national football team, looks out onto the pitch with his face in his hands in apparent agony just before suffering a 1-4 defeat in an international friendly against Uruguay at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 28th. / Yonhap

The South Korean national football team suffered a resounding defeat against Uruguay in its second international friendly since changing managers. The only consolation came as Son Heung-min (34, LAFC) netted his 58th international goal, tying the all-time scoring record for South Korea in men's senior international football.

Led by interim manager Robert Moreno, South Korea fell 1-4 to Uruguay in the Hana Bank-sponsored friendly match held at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 28th. Having defeated Ecuador 3-0 on the 24th in Moreno's debut match, South Korea now stands at one win and one loss in its four-match international window across September and October.

South Korea will play its third international friendly against Venezuela at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium at 8:00 p.m. on the 2nd of next month.

South Korea lined up in the same 4-4-2 formation that paid dividends against Ecuador, but found itself outmatched by Uruguay in cohesion, pace, and individual skill. With Oh Hyeon-gyu (25, Besiktas) and Son leading the attack as a front two, Lee Kang-in (25, Atletico Madrid)—who was rested against Ecuador—patrolled the midfield alongside Kim Bong-soo (27, Daejeon Hana Citizen), Lee Jae-sung (34, Mainz), and Hwang Hee-chan (30, Schalke). However, frequent turnovers during build-up play repeatedly handed scoring chances to the opposition.

Uruguay, by contrast, wasted no time exploiting the space behind South Korean defenders Kim Min-jae (30, Bayern Munich) and Lee Han-beom (21, Brugge) as they pressed forward into attack. Uruguay opened the scoring in the 12th minute when Darwin Nunez (27, Al-Diriyah) drove toward the front of goal after stripping the ball from Lee Jae-sung in midfield. Giorgian de Arrascaeta (32, Flamengo) doubled the lead in similar fashion in the 21st minute, followed by Guillermo Varela (33, Flamengo) scoring Uruguay's third after breaking through in the 42nd minute.

Trailing at halftime, South Korea looked to shift momentum through substitutions, but conceded a fourth goal in the 12th minute of the second half to a charging header from Nunez. South Korea had to settle for Son's consolation strike 13 minutes later.

Son redirected a diagonal cross delivered by Lee Kang-in from the right wing into the net. Asked in a post-match broadcast interview how he felt about matching former national team manager Cha Bum-kun's all-time scoring record for South Korea, Son remarked, "I'm not even entirely sure whether I made contact with the ball or not," adding, "Right now, it doesn't move me at all. Today's defeat is simply disappointing."

                                                                                                           Cho Seong-jun