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Jo Hyeon-woo

조현우

#21 · Goalkeeper · age 34

First-choice goalkeeper expected for the World Cup

Club
Ulsan HD
South Korea · K League 1
Caps
48
Intl goals
0

86

WC26 rating

low confidence limited data · estimated
Recent form
46
Career peak
46
League level
74
Competition pedigree
30
International pedigree
84
Longevity
39

Independent rating — league strength (Opta-anchored) × competition tier × position-normalized output. Thin data: leans on league tier, caps and FC26 prior. Not affiliated with EA or FIFA.

Jo Hyeon-woo’s path from K League stalwart to two-time World Cup veteran has been quietly remarkable. He is expected to start in Hong Myung-bo’s first-choice XI, with the kind of reflex-saving profile that has lifted Korea past stronger sides before.

His Ulsan HD home base also gives him an unusual continuity with K League-based teammates — important for set-piece organisation and shape under pressure.

Strengths

Recent form

Ulsan HD No.1 through 2025-26 K League 1 campaign.

His goalkeeping performance vs Germany in 2018 — including a string of late saves before Korea added the clinching goal in injury time — is etched into Korean football memory as one of the country's greatest World Cup moments.