HARRISON, N.J. — With nine months to go until the World Cup, the U.S. men’s soccer team had another limp loss against a quality opponent, this time a 2-0 defeat to South Korea on Saturday.

Superstar forward Son Heung-Min scored the opener, and Lee Jae-Sun scored the second, both in the first half, while the U.S. barely mustered any attacking spark until substitutions late in the second.

It was little surprise that the announced sellout crowd of 26,500 at Sports Illustrated Stadium (though they didn’t all show up) was louder for the visitors. Northern New Jersey has one of the largest Korean populations in the country, and they came out to party.

Son, famously known for his time with the English Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur and now with Los Angeles FC, gave them what they came for. He scored the opener in the 19th minute by racing behind debutant U.S. centerback Tristan Blackmon and finishing with ease.

That was the worst way for Blackmon to begin his audition to overtake Europe-based players who aren’t on this roster on the depth chart. He was ball-watching and pointing at the air as Son ran by, and by the time he turned, Son was several steps past him.

There were moments in the first half in which the U.S. started to play well, but they faded into misplayed passes or attackers running into multiple defenders. The lone true shot came in the 41st minute from Tim Weah, and he put it well wide.

» READ MORE: Matt Freese is the USMNT’s starting goalkeeper — for now. He wants to try to keep the job.

It didn’t take long for South Korea to score again, with Blackmon in the center of another defensive mishap. He stood still as a trio of attackers worked the ball around Tim Ream, who also looked pretty bad in the sequence. Goalkeeper Matt Freese came off his line but couldn’t get the ball, and Lee Dong-Gyeong finished with a back heeled flick.

Weah took the U.S.’ second shot of the game in the 57th and put it halfway up the lower-deck stands.

Pochettino finally made substitutions in the 62nd, a quartet of moves that shifted the U.S. formation from its usual 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2. Chris Richards was the additional centerback, with striker Folarin Balogun replacing Josh Sargent and joining starter Christian Pulisic in the forward pair.

» READ MORE: While the USMNT’s World Cup door is open, Folarin Balogun and Alejandro Zendejas aim to run through it

Cristian Roldan also entered in midfield for Tyler Adams, and Alex Freeman replaced Sergiño Dest to take the right wingback spot. Dest’s attacking thrust as the right back in the 4-3-3 was one of the very few bright spots on the day.

Alex Zendejas joined the fray in the 71st, replacing Diego Luna as the central attacking midfielder, and Jack McGlynn replaced Sebastian Berhalter in the 79th.

Still, nothing delivered a goal, not even two U.S. free kicks from ideal positions. In the 74th, Berhalter sent one right to Richards near the six-yard box, but he could only chest the ball right at South Korean goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-Woo. Four minutes later, Pulisic sent an attempt from 25 yards out well over the crossbar.

Balogun gave the game its last breath in stoppage time with three attempts in a row that Jo foiled, the last with the crossbar’s help.

The U.S. next plays Japan on Tuesday, in Columbus, Ohio (7:30 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62). It will be another uphill task, especially if these same players put in this same kind of performance.

» READ MORE: Josh Sargent is a prolific scorer for his club team, but hasn’t scored for the U.S. in six years

USMNT in Chester ticket details

Before Saturday’s kickoff (and better then vs. afterward), U.S. Soccer officially announced the men’s team’s Nov. 15 game vs. Paraguay in Chester, and the Nov. 18 game vs. Uruguay in Tampa, Fla.

The game at Subaru Park will be a 5 p.m. kickoff, with TV broadcasts on TNT in English and Telemundo 62 and Universo in Spanish.

Presales for various levels of U.S. Soccer’s Insiders membership program start on Monday, then there’s a presale for Visa cardholders on Tuesday. Sales for the general public start Thursday at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster and U.S. Soccer’s website.

» READ MORE: The U.S. men’s soccer team will play at Subaru Park in November

Since beating Ghana in a friendly almost two years ago, USMNT is now 0-5-1 with three goals for and 15 conceded in official windows against formidable non-Concacaf countries.

Just 9+ months and nine friendlies to get it right before the World Cup.

— Steven Goff (@stevengoff.bsky.social) September 6, 2025 at 7:02 PM