Marwan Al-Sahafi put Saudi Arabia ahead in first-half stoppage time before Oh Hyeon-gyu equalised two minutes into the second half. Mohamed Kanno and Al-Amri then struck in the 56th and 59th minutes to make it 3-1, and Lee Jae-sung pulled one back in the 68th minute but Korea could not find an equaliser.

Interim head coach Robert Moreno started captain Son Heung-min of LAFC alongside the three 1996-born players — Hwang Hee-chan of Schalke, Hwang In-beom of Porto and Kim Min-jae of Bayern Munich — who had been reported to have clashed with Son over his leadership. It was their first match together since those reports surfaced after the Uzbekistan friendly on 6 October.

Saudi Arabia, ranked 55th by FIFA and 23 places below Korea, went ahead when a through ball split the Korean back line and goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu slipped as he rushed out, allowing Al-Sahafi to round Lee Han-beom and finish into the far corner.

Korea levelled quickly after the restart. Hwang In-beom held off a challenge and fed Seol Young-woo on the right; his cross was met by Oh Hyeon-gyu with a turning right-footed finish that stood after a VAR review.

The lead lasted nine minutes. Saud Abdulhamid burst past the defence and set up Kanno for a right-footed finish in the 56th minute, and three minutes later Al-Amri headed in a corner from Nasser Al-Dawsari to make it 3-1.

Son had the best chance to bring Korea back into the game in the 66th minute when Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais miscleared under pressure from Oh, but Son blazed his shot over the bar from the centre of the box.

Korea pulled one back shortly afterwards. Lee Jae-sung, a close friend and long-time teammate of Son, had been on the pitch only a couple of minutes when Hwang Hee-chan broke down the left and cut the ball back for Lee to finish.

Korea pushed for an equaliser through Lee Kang-in of Atletico Madrid and substitute Oh Se-hun of Shimizu but could not break through. The result leaves Korea trailing in the head-to-head record with five wins, nine draws and six losses.

Moreno said after the match that the result was disappointing and his side conceded too easily, making mistakes that should not happen at national team level. He added that Saudi Arabia pressed far harder than his staff's analysis had suggested and that the defence needs work, starting with him.

Asked why Son played the full 90 minutes, Moreno said his aim was to have the best players on the pitch at every moment and that Son is the captain, plays a crucial role and created important chances.

Son blamed himself for the missed chance. "When the chance comes, I need to be the one who makes the difference, and I couldn't do that today, so I'm very sorry to my teammates," he said. "It's moments like this that always make me take a hard look at myself."

Son also pointed to positives. "Football is a sport where it's hard to get a result even when all 11 players share the same mindset. I think I saw a lot of good things today. It's a shame that the good things get overshadowed by the result. The players really communicated a lot on the pitch. Time will definitely sort things out," he said.

Reports of a rift surfaced after the Uzbekistan friendly on 6 October, with the three 1996-born players reportedly telling teammates they were considering retiring from international football out of frustration with Son's leadership. Moreno called up all four for the November window anyway.

During this camp, Son, Lee Jae-sung and the three 1996-born players issued a joint statement to put the reports of discord to rest. Hwang Hee-chan said the talks that went into the statement had been important and valuable, and that it was hard that so many unexpected things had leaked out and been distorted.

Lee Jae-sung said he and Hwang had talked a lot and credited that for the goal they combined on. "This was a precious match where we could show that we are one, so I'm very sorry we couldn't get the result. I was able to create the chance because Hwang Hee-chan and I had talked a lot," he said.

Moreno's record now stands at two wins, one draw and two losses. His contract runs out on 27 November and whether it is extended depends on his performance over his six friendlies. His future has been further clouded by the postponement of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia from January to December 2027-January 2028.

Asked about the Asian Cup postponement, Moreno said he would focus only on what he can control and that his job right now is to analyse the match and fix what needs fixing so the team can give its best performance against Qatar.

Korea face Qatar in their second November friendly in Doha on Tuesday, with kick-off at 11 pm Korean time. That match may be Moreno's last in charge of the national team.

Brief scores: Saudi Arabia 3 (Al-Sahafi 45+1', Kanno 56', Al-Amri 59') beat South Korea 2 (Oh Hyeon-gyu 47', Lee Jae-sung 68').