Following the Wales expedition, the warm-up match against Saudi Arabia was promoted
The national soccer team, which had raised concerns because it could not find a partner for the A match in September, is expected to face Saudi Arabia, the "Middle East powerhouse."
According to the Korea Football Association, Saudi Arabia is likely to be the second opponent of Klinsmann's A match in September.
The national soccer team, which played its home games during the A-match in March and June, plans to go on an expedition to Europe in September. Earlier on 8 September, it was decided to play its first warm-up match against the Welsh national team at Cardiff Stadium in Wales.
The problem is that they have to play two warm-up matches in September, but the other team besides Wales has not been confirmed. Mexico, a strong team in North Korea, Central America, which was initially mentioned as a strong opponent of the warm-up match, broke down negotiations due to the lack of TV broadcast time in the country.
As a result, the Korea Football Association is in a situation where it has to urgently find a second A-match opponent. However, during the A match in September, it was impossible to recruit another European team as a warm-up match because the preliminary round of the 2024 European Football Championship (Euro 2024) was held.
On the other hand, Japan, which will also go on an expedition to Europe during the A match in September, set up warm-up matches against Germany and Turkiye early on, in stark contrast.
Analysts say that Saudi Arabia, which is likely to be the second opponent of the A match in September, is not bad ahead of the worst situation in which it is difficult to find an opponent in the warm-up match.
Although the Klinsmann team was launched with the goal of the 2026 North-Central America World Cup, Saudi Arabia, which is likely to compete for the championship, is a good sparring opponent as the first goal is the Asian Cup approaching January next year.
Saudi Arabia currently ranks 54th in FIFA rankings, lower than South Korea, which ranks 28th, but showed off its potential by defeating Lionel Messi's Argentina 2-1 at the 2022 Qatar World Cup last year.
In addition, Klinsmann's team is reportedly pushing for a warm-up match against Vietnam during the October A match in Korea, which seems to be thoroughly focusing on the Asian Cup.
On the other hand, Japan, which will play two warm-up matches against European teams in the A match in September, will prepare for the Asian Cup through warm-up matches with formidable opponents such as Canada and Tunisia in October.
Attention is focusing on what kind of report cards the two countries, which have very different preparations for the Asian Cup, will receive in the main exam. 스포츠토토