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 (KFA) announced on the 6th, “We decided to hold a friendly A match with the Colombian national team on March 24th.” The venue and time of the match have not been set.
This match is expected to be the debut match of 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 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 among South American countries.
The Korea Football Association explained, “During that period, European and African countries have continental championship qualifying schedules, and most North and Central American countries are playing Nations League matches.”
The match between Korea and Japan in March was unsuccessful as the opponents for both matches in March were decided to be South American countries안전놀이터.
Japan Football Association Technical Committee Sorimachi Yasuharu was asked in an interview with Japanese media earlier this month about the possibility of confrontation with Korea, and replied, “I think it’s worth considering because Korea is definitely a powerhouse that has advanced to the round of 16.”
Among South American countries, there is a high possibility that the opponent team will be decided among the countries excluding Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay, who played World Cup champions 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, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, will be 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 March A-match is held during the A-match period set by FIFA, foreign players can be summoned.
Colombia failed to qualify for the Qatar World Cup finals 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, which Korea won 2-1. In terms of opponent record, Korea leads with 4 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.
Led by Argentinian coach Nesto Lorenzo, James Rodriguez (Olympiacos), Davinson Sanchez (Tottenham), Luis Diaz (Liverpool), and Juan Cuadrado (Juventus) are the main players.
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.