Korea, Spain to meet in friendly on May 30

The national football team will have a friendly match against world No. 1 Spain on May 30, the Korea Football Association announced yesterday.

The KFA said that its president, Cho Chung-yun, and Angel Maria Villar Llona, president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, met at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich on Tuesday and agreed to hold a friendly between the two countries.

The venue of the match is not determined yet, but the KFA said it will be either in Switzerland or Austria.

Korea, ranked 30th in the world in the March FIFA rankings, is currently waiting to play in the final round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The Taeguk Warriors are in Group A with Iran, Uzbekistan, Qatar and Lebanon. The team’s first match is against Qatar on June 8.

Spain, who won the 2010 FIFA World Cup, is also preparing for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, which will be held in Poland and Ukraine from June 8. The defending European champions, led by coach Vicente del Bosque, is in Group C of that competition with Italy, Ireland and Croatia.

“Playing against strong European countries has many benefits,” said Choi Kang-hee, the national football team coach. “Of course, our team can have a bad atmosphere if we lose, but playing against high-level teams can boost our confidence and competitiveness.”

The most recent friendly between the two teams took place on June 3, 2010. Spain beat Korea 1-0 with a goal from Jesus Navas on the 85th minute.