Uruguaian friendly a warm up for Asian Cup
South Korea’s national football team faces Uruguay in a friendly match here today, hoping to beat the Latin American football powerhouse for the first time after three consecutive losses beginning with the 1990 World Cup in Italy.South Korea has not won a match against any South American team since 2001 and carries a record of four draws and five losses since then.
“To the extent that we are firmly determined to beat the South American team, the past record is meaningless,” Kim Dong-jin, a defender on the national team, said in a news conference.
Three South Korean premier leaguers are expected to lead the team in both attack and defense. Park Ji-sung of Manchester United, who scored twice on Saturday in a premier league match against the Bolton Wanderers, Lee Young-pyo of the Tottenham Hotspurs and Seol Ki-hyeon of FC Reading returned home Wednesday.
Kim Dong-jin and Lee Ho with Zenit of Saint Petersburg, Russia, and Cho Jae-jin and Kim Jung-woo of the Japanese league will also join the national team.
The South Korean team, in the midst of preparing for the upcoming Asian Cup in July, will try to maintain its momentum following a 1-0 victory over Greece in London early last month.
“Uruguay, a football giant in South America, will not be an easy team,” said Lee Young-pyo. “Playing a good game and winning will be important, but [it will be more important] to learn something from the match [and use it] to win the Asian Cup, a more crucial title.”
On Thursday, the 26-member squad, which is ranked 48th by FIFA, gathered at a secondary pitch at the Seoul World Cup stadium, the venue of the friendly match, to warm up.
The match will be played Saturday at 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, the 26th-ranked Uruguaian team arrived here Wednesday. One of their big guns, Diego Forlan of Spanish league club Villa Real, will miss the match due to a minor injury.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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