Returning coach Hong eyes redemption as South Korea resume World Cup bid
The Group B opener is Hong's first game as national team boss since he was reappointed in July, 10 years after an ignominious departure following South Korea's group phase elimination at the 2014 World Cup.
"The regrets from my past experience with the national team have stayed with me throughout my life," Hong told the Asian Football Confederation's official website.
"With this new opportunity, I am committed to fulfilling my duty for the development of Korean football."
Hong has taken over after a period of instability within the set-up, stepping in as the long-term replacement for Juergen Klinsmann after the German left following his team's semi-final exit at the Asian Cup in Qatar in February.
Interim coaches Hwang Sun-hong and Kim Do-Hoon took the team, captained by Son Heung-Min, through the remaining qualifiers in March and June and Hong will look to lead the country to an 11th consecutive World Cup berth.
The Koreans kick off against Palestine before travelling to Muscat to face Oman as part of the 18-nation preliminaries that determine six of Asia's eight guaranteed berths at the 2026 finals.
Hong's side are the favourites to advance from the group, which also sees Iraq take on the Omanis on Thursday and Jordan, Asian Cup runners-up in February, play Kuwait.
"It's important to remember that this is just a record," Hong said of Korea's qualifying history. "Even though the number of teams qualifying for this World Cup has increased, we must prepare with a certain level of tension to achieve our goal."
Japan are also serial qualifiers who will launch the next phase of their campaign on Thursday when Hajime Moriyasu's side host China at Saitama Stadium in Group C.
Group C also sees Australia take on Bahrain and Saudi Arabia meet Indonesia in the most competitive of the preliminary groups.
In Group A, back-to-back Asian Cup winners Qatar host the United Arab Emirates while Iran take on Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan entertain North Korea.
The top two finishers in the third phase, which runs until June, qualify automatically for the finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico while the third and fourth-placed finishers advance to a further round to fight for the two remaining spots.
