South Korea's football governing body confirmed Monday the venues for the national team's two friendly matches at home next month.
The Korea Football Association said the men's national football team will take on Colombia at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, 46 kilometers south of Seoul, on Nov. 10, and they will host Serbia at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, about 410 kilometers southeast of the capital, on Nov. 14. Both matches will start at 8 p.m.
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In this file photo taken Oct. 6, 2016, South Korean national team players bow to fans at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, after beating Qatar 3-2 in the Asian qualifying match for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. (Yonhap) |
The two international matches are South Korea's third and fourth friendlies since they qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup last month.
Both Colombia and Serbia have also secured their spots at the World Cup. Colombia, 13th in the latest FIFA rankings, finished fourth in the South America World Cup qualifying campaign, while 38th-ranked Serbia finished atop Group D in the European qualifying round.
South Korea, ranked 62nd in the world, have the lead in their head-to-head record against Colombia, with two wins, two draws and one loss. One of the two wins came in Suwon in 1996 when they beat the Colombians 4-1. Current national team head coach Shin Tae-yong played 56 minutes as midfielder in that match.
South Korea last played at Suwon World Cup Stadium on Oct. 6, 2016, when they eked out a 3-2 win against Qatar in the Asian World Cup qualifying round.
Against Serbia, South Korea have split their two meetings, with one win and one loss. The last time South Korea played in Ulsan was June 18, 2013, when they fell 1-0 to Iran in the qualifying match for the 2014 World Cup.
The Taeguk Warriors are desperate to escape from a slump under Shin, who has yet to win a match since taking the helm in July. After collecting two scoreless draws with Iran and Uzbekistan in the final Asian World Cup qualifying round last month, Shin's side fell to the World Cup hosts Russia 4-2 in Moscow on Oct. 7 and suffered a 3-1 defeat to Morocco in Switzerland on Oct. 10.
Shin is expected to announce his squad for the November friendlies next week. (Yonhap)
