Fresh off a resounding win over Haiti, South Korea will take on a depleted Croatia in their football friendly this week.
The match will be held at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul, at 8 p.m. Tuesday. It will be the second meeting this year between the 56th-ranked South Korea and No. 8 Croatia.
South Korea defeated Haiti 4-1 last Friday to snap its four-game winless streak under head coach Hong Myung-bo, who took over the national team in June. The four-goal outburst was the country's biggest offensive output in more than a year. In the first four matches under Hong, South Korea had managed only three draws and one loss, while scoring just once.
Against Haiti, Hong had the services of Europe-based stars for the first time in his tenure, and those players responded to Hong's call-up with solid play overall.
Son Heung-min of Bayer Leverkusen, a fast-rising youngster in Germany's Bundesliga, netted two goals in the game. Lee Chung-yong, a crafty midfielder for the Bolton Wanderers in England, drew two penalties early in the second half with smart dribbling. Koo Ja-cheol of VfL Wolfsburg, also a German club, converted on the first of the two penalties.
Park Joo-ho, left fullback for Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga, provided stability on defense and also made some offensive contribution.
South Korea will look to avenge a humiliating 4-0 loss to Croatia in London seven months ago. Four different players scored a goal apiece for the European side in the game.
Croatia, though, will have a much different squad this time, with several of its regular players missing.
From the 16-man roster, one notable absentee is striker Mario Manduzkic, one of the goal scorers from the February match. He was the top scorer for the Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich last season, and also helped the German club claim the UEFA Champions League title.
Versatile midfielder Luka Modric of Real Madrid also didn't make the trip, joined on the sidelines by forward Nikica Jelavic of Everton and Mateo Kovacic of Inter Milan.
Croatia played Serbia to a 1-1 draw last Friday, and only five players from that contest flew to South Korea, including captain Darijo Srna, who plays for Shakhtar Donetsk in Uzbekistan.
For South Korea, Son Heung-min played the entire match against Haiti and may only be available as a substitute on Tuesday after just three days of rest. Lee Chung-yong and Koo Ja-cheol came off the bench to start the second half last week and could receive starting nods against Croatia.
In net, Kim Seung-gyu made his second straight international start over Jung Sung-ryong, the veteran of the 2010 World Cup with
53 international matches under his belt. Kim made some spectacular saves to preserve a 0-0 draw against Peru last month but wasn't tested nearly as much against Haiti.
Against Croatia, Jung may be given the opportunity to work himself back into the fold.
South Korea has two more friendly matches scheduled for next month. It will host Brazil in Seoul on Oct. 12, and then bring Mali to Cheonan, about 90 kilometers south of Seoul, on Oct. 15.
It has two more dates open for friendlies in November.
Officials have previously said South Korea is likely to travel to Europe for two November matches. (Yonhap News)
