The ‘Clinsman’, which is trying to win the Asian Cup for the first time in 64 years, will have its final mock test against Iraq ahead of the opening of the tournament.
South Korea’s national soccer team, led by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, will play an exhibition match against Iraq at New York University Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, at 10 p.m. on the 6th (Korea time).랭크카지노주소
This warm-up match is the final test in preparation for the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup, which will open on the 12th.
Since winning the first Asian Cup championship in 1956 and the second Asian Cup championship in 1960, Korea has never won the Asian Cup title. Korea has ranked second four times.
Looking to rise to the top, the Korean national team can come close to winning the title only when it overcomes the “sand winds” of the Middle East. Until now, Korea has bowed its head to Middle East teams in many Asian Cups.
In fact, he was eliminated from the quarterfinals after losing to Qatar in the most recent 2019 tournament.
The match against Iraq is expected to be a good opportunity to check the Taegeuk Warriors, who are in peak condition, to see how powerful they are. Currently, Korea ranks 23rd and Iraq ranks 63rd in the FIFA rankings.
In past matches, Korea is leading with eight wins, 12 draws and two losses. Since losing 0-1 in the final qualifying round for the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, Korea has recorded 12 undefeated matches (five wins and seven draws) against Iraq for 40 years.
Iraq belongs to Group D with Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia. If Iraq ranks second in its group after Japan and Korea ranks first in Group E as expected, chances are high that the two teams will meet in the round of 16.
Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who played the Super Cup in his team, is scheduled to join the team, and Klinsmann will play against Iraq as a whole.
The national team entered Abu Dhabi, the training site, on the 3rd, after domestic and some overseas players began to harden through indoor training at a hotel in Seoul on the 26th of last month.
Key players including captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), and Kim Seung-gyu (Al-Shabab) also gathered at Abu Dhabi Training Center. Lastly, if Lee Kang-in is included, the 26-member Taeguk Warriors will become the entire Korean team.
What draws attention in the last real game is how hot European strikers, such as Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan, who have recently shown good condition in their teams, can show their attacking power.
Son scored his 12th goal in the league in the pre-joining match, and Hwang Hee-chan also joined the national team by scoring an offensive point in two consecutive matches. Lee Kang-in also scored the winning goal in the Super Cup to win his first trophy. Oh Hyun-kyu of Celtic is also in good condition.
After the Iraq war, South Korea will head to Qatar, the site of the showdown, on the 10th.
Korea (ranked 23rd in FIFA rankings), which aims to rise to the top in 64 years, will compete with Bahrain (ranked 86th), Jordan (87th) and Malaysia (ranked 130th) in Group E of the Asian Cup. Korea will play its first match against Bahrain on Saturday, and will meet Jordan (ranked 20th) and Malaysia (ranked 25th), respectively.
Coach Klinsmann said, “I will definitely lift the Asian Cup trophy that I haven’t achieved in 64 years.”