The first opponent of the national soccer team’s A match to be held in Korea in March has been decided by Colombia.
The Korea Football Association announced, “We decided to hold a friendly A match with the Colombian national team on March 24,” but the venue and time of the match have not been set.
This match is expected to be the debut match for the new Korean national soccer team coach.
After advancing to the round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar last year, coach Paulo Bento (Portugal) resigned from the Korean national soccer team, and is currently looking for a replacement coach.
The opponent for the second match of A-match, which will be held on March 28, is currently under discussion and will be selected from a South American country.
The Korea Football Association explained, “During this period, European and African countries have continental championship qualifying schedules, and most North and Central American countries are playing Nations League matches.”
As the opponents of both matches in March A match were decided to be South American countries, the match between Korea and Japan in March failed. 스포츠토토
Japan Football Association Sorimachi Yasuharu Technical Committee was asked about the possibility of confrontation with Korea in an interview with Japanese media earlier this month, and replied, “I think it is worth considering because Korea is definitely a powerhouse that has advanced to the round of 16.”
Among South American countries, it is highly likely that the opponent team will be decided among the countries excluding Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay, who played World Cup winners Argentina and South Korea last June.
Excluding these four countries and Colombia among the 10 member countries of the South American Football Confederation, five countries, including Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, are narrowed down as opponents for the second leg.
Previously, local media in Uruguay reported that the national team would visit Korea and Japan in March to play an evaluation match.
Since the A-match in March is held during the A-match period set by FIFA, players from overseas can be summoned.
Colombia did not qualify for the World Cup finals in Qatar last year, but ranked 17th in the FIFA rankings, higher than Korea, which is ranked 25th.
Recently, Korea and Colombia played a friendly match in Seoul in March 2019, and Korea won 2-1, and Korea leads with 4 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.
Colombia is led by Argentinian coach Nesto Lorenzo, and the main players are James Rodriguez (Olympiacos), Davinson Sanchez (Tottenham), Luis Diaz (Liverpool), and Juan Cuadrado (Juventus).
Uruguay, a strong opponent for the second match in March, ranked 16th in the FIFA rankings and drew 0-0 with Korea in the group stage of the World Cup in Qatar last year.