SEOUL– Venues and kickoff times for two of South Korea’s three men’s football friendlies in June were set Monday.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) said South Korea’s match against Chile on June 6 will kick off at 8 p.m. at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon, some 160 kilometers south of Seoul. Four days later, South Korea will host Paraguay at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, about 45 kilometers south of the capital, also starting at 8 p.m.
South Korea will then take on world No. 1 Brazil on June 2. The KFA had already announced on May 4 that this match will be played at Seoul World Cup Stadium, also an 8 p.m. kickoff.
South Korea have scheduled these matches in preparation for this year’s FIFA World Cup, which will begin in Qatar in November.
The KFA is trying to schedule another friendly match in June during the May 30-June 14 FIFA international match window. The KFA had tried to set up a date with Argentina but talks fell through, and it said Monday it will announce the fourth opponent for June later.
Brazil own the most World Cup titles with five and are the only team to have played at every World Cup to date. South Korea, ranked 29th, have one win and five losses in six previous meetings against Brazil. They last met in 2019 in a friendly in the United Arab Emirates, with Brazil coming out on top 3-0.
Brazil recently announced a star-studded squad for their upcoming trip to Asia, which will also see them play Japan. Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar, Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior and Chelsea defender Thiago Silva will lead the way.
Chile, one spot above South Korea in the FIFA rankings, missed out on the World Cup this time. The two countries have met twice so far, with one draw and one loss in the books.
Paraguay, world No. 50, also did not qualify for the World Cup. South Korea have had two wins, three draws and one loss against Paraguay.
South Korea have mostly played Asian opponents and lower-ranked European teams over the past couple of years, with the COVID-19 pandemic limiting travel opportunities. The KFA said the upcoming matches will allow South Korea to see how they stack up against more skilled teams as they gear up for the World Cup.
South Korea, making their 10th consecutive World Cup appearance, will play out of Group H against Portugal, Uruguay and Ghana.
They have advanced to the knockout phase twice: the semifinals in 2002 as co-hosts with Japan and the round of 16 in 2020 in South Africa.
Source: Yonhap News Agency