Korean soccer team to open camp for friendlies

The men’s national soccer team will open camp Tuesday for upcoming friendly matches at home as new head coach Uli Stielike makes his South Korea debut.

South Korea is scheduled to host Paraguay on Friday in Cheonan, about 90 kilometers south of Seoul, and then play Costa Rica in Seoul on Oct. 14. Both matches will kick off at 8 p.m.

Stielike, the former German international named South Korean boss last month, will open training camp Tuesday at the National Football Center in Paju, north of Seoul, in preparation.

South Korea is currently No. 63 in the FIFA rankings, its lowest spot ever. Paraguay is three notches ahead, while Costa Rica is ranked 15th.

Costa Rica reached the quarterfinals at this year’s FIFA World Cup in Brazil, while South Korea was knocked out of the group stage. Paraguay didn’t qualify for the tournament.

Leading South Korea in attack will be Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors striker Lee Dong-gook, who scored twice in a friendly against Venezuela last month, and Bayer Leverkusen winger Son Heung-min, off to a sensational start in Germany with six goals in 10 matches in league and continental play.

Three players who helped South Korea win a gold medal at the recently concluded Asian Games have also been named: forward Kim Seung-dae, goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu and midfielder Park Joo-ho.

Stielike last week announced a 22-man roster for the two matches. Midfielder Koo Ja-cheol was ruled out with a leg injury and defender Kim Jin-su was also a late scratch after his German club, TSG Hoffenheim, asked him to return to its lineup.

Kim played for South Korea at the Asian Games. As the country went all the way to the final and won the gold medal, Kim was away from his Bundesliga club for about a month. The training camp for the Asiad squad opened in early September, and the tournament ended last Thursday. (Yonhap)