Seoul: South Korea will take on Ivory Coast in an away friendly match next month to prepare for the FIFA World Cup, the national football federation announced Tuesday. The Korea Football Association (KFA) stated that South Korea and Ivory Coast will meet at a yet-to-be-determined venue near London at 2 p.m. on March 28. It will be the first of two matches for South Korea during the March 23-31 FIFA international match window.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the KFA announced back in January that South Korea will play Austria in Vienna at 8:45 p.m. on March 31. At the World Cup, South Korea, coached by Hong Myung-bo, will face Mexico, South Africa, and a European playoff winner to be decided in March. The KFA had been seeking to schedule a match against an African opponent and Ivory Coast, world No. 37, also headed to the World Cup, will fit the bill.
South Korea, ranked 22nd in the FIFA rankings, and Ivory Coast have faced each other once, with South Korea prevailing 2-0 in a friendly in London in March 2010.