Saudi Arabia from the Middle East has been selected as the second opponent for the ‘Klinsmann’s’ September trip to Europe.
“We are discussing an evaluation match with Saudi Arabia as the second opponent for the September A match,” said an official from the Korea Football Association.온라인바카라
Initially, South Korea, led by coach Jürgen Klinsmann, had planned to play Wales and Mexico in the second leg of their September away A matches in England.
The Mexico game fell through while negotiations were ongoing, with the first test against Wales confirmed for 8 September at Cardiff Stadium in Wales. Mexico were also scheduled to play two matches against South Korea and Saudi Arabia in September, but both were cancelled.
Last month, the Mexican Football Federation informed us that they were unable to arrange the trials due to time constraints.
With the sudden cancellation of the Mexico game, the KFA looked for a second A-match opponent, but the September A-match period is during the Euro 2024 qualifiers, making it difficult to find a European team.
As a result, the KFA is discussing playing trials in Saudi Arabia and England after the September match against Mexico was cancelled.
The Saudi match is likely to take place on the 12th of next month. The time and place are undecided.
Son Heung-min of South Korea dribbles during the Hana Bank invitational international football match between South Korea and El Salvador at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, South Korea, on Tuesday. 2023.6.20/News1 ⓒ News1 By Seung-Kwan Yoo
Saudi Arabia, ranked 53rd in the FIFA rankings, is considered a step below South Korea (28th). South Korea’s overall head-to-head record with the A team is 4 wins, 7 draws and 6 losses. The most recent match was a 0-0 draw in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in 2018.
The Saudis are a powerhouse in the Middle East and will be a fitting opponent for the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar next January. The Saudis made a splash at last year’s World Cup in Qatar by beating Argentina in Group C, but ultimately crashed out of the tournament with a 1-2 loss.
South Korea will face Jordan, Bahrain and Malaysia in Group E at the Asian Cup. Saudi Arabia will face Thailand, Kyrgyzstan and Oman in Group F.
Meanwhile, Klinsmann’s men will play two exhibition matches in Korea during the October A-match period (9-17 October) before embarking on the second round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup North America in November.
They will face the winners of China, Thailand and Singapore-Guam in the second round.
South Korea are pushing to play Vietnam in the October A match. Klinsmann is reportedly looking for a hypothetical opponent to break through their dense defence.