Jo Hyeon-woo

After graduating from Sun Moon University, Jo entered the 2013 K League 1 draft and was selected by Daegu FC. He failed to prevent the relegation of his team in his first professional season, and had to compete in the K League 2. Since the 2015 season, Jo evolved into Daegu's first-choice goalkeeper and became the best goalkeeper in the K League 2. He finally helped Daegu promote to the K League 1 in 2016. He also contributed to Daegu's first Korean FA Cup title in 2018. After a successful career in Daegu, Jo joined Ulsan Hyundai on 20 January 2020. He contributed to Ulsan's three consecutive K League 1 titles from 2022 to 2024, and was named the K League 1 Most Valuable Player in 2024. He became the second goalkeeper to win the K League 1 MVP award, following Lee Woon-jae. Jo played in three group stage matches for Ulsan at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, but lost all three matches. He blocked 10 out of 11 shots on target in the last group stage match against Borussia Dortmund. FIFA website reminded readers of his performance against Germany at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, describing him as the "German hangman". Despite his effort to bring the first victory, Ulsan lost 1–0 without scoring.

Early career

In November 2015, Jo was called up for South Korea's national team by manager Uli Stielike to play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Laos and Myanmar. He was selected as the national representative for the EAFF E-1 Football Championship in 2017 winning the competition's best goalkeeper award.

2018 World Cup

In May 2018, Jo was named in South Korea's preliminary 28-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Originally expected to be the third-choice keeper, Jo made his international debut in a major competition. His performances in the first two matches against Sweden and Mexico were impressive, despite both ending in defeats for South Korea. He was lauded particularly for his point-blank save against Swedish striker Marcus Berg which put him in the spotlight. Jo then played a prominent role in Germany's historic elimination from the first round of a World Cup for the first time since 1938 with a stellar performance, earning him the Man of the Match award. Jo made seven saves without conceding any goals. Despite this performance, South Korea learned after the match that they had been eliminated from the tournament due to Sweden beating Mexico (South Korea needed Mexico to beat Sweden to advance). South Korea finished ahead of Germany in Group F, placing third.

2018 Asian Games

Jo was named in the South Korean under-23 team for the 2018 Asian Games as an over-aged player. He appeared in two matches against Bahrain and…

Club

As of match played 5 September 2026

International

As of match played 30 May 2026

Jo was raised by his mother and father who was a gymnast in Seoul. Jo decided to become a goalkeeper when he saw Kim Byung-ji's lead while watching 1998 France in elementary. He later said, "I was excited about playing football after watching the World Cup as I could be someone else's dream." In his fifth grade, the football coach of Shinjeong Elementary School Ham Sang-heon asked for the best goalkeeper in the schoolyard as he was worried he would not have a goalkeeper. The children pointed to Jo. The coach tested Jo by making him save several shots. This would be the beginning of his career. He has been the main goalkeeper and has played in national tournaments ever since. In response, his old coach said "It was not once or twice that teams won because of Jo's success in the penalty shoot-out".