Taeguk Warriors to host Iran, Australia for June friendlies

Korea will host Australia and Iran in men’s football friendlies in June, the sport’s national federation said Friday.

An official with the Korea Football Association (KFA) said Australia will visit Korea to complete their home-and-away series, with Korea having faced the Socceroos in Brisbane last November. Korea and Iran only need to sign an agreement to finalize their meeting.

Based on FIFA’s International Match Calendar, two official matches can be scheduled between June 3 and 11. Korea, coached by Paulo Bento, will assemble on June 3 and play their two matches on June 7 and 11.

It has not been determined on which of those dates Australia and Iran will take on the Taeguk Warriors.

Iran is the top Asian Football Confederation (AFC) team in the FIFA rankings at No. 21, 16 spots ahead of Korea and 20 spots above Australia.

Korea has faced Iran 30 times, with an all-time record of nine wins, eight draws and 13 losses. Korea’s last win over Iran came in January 2011 in the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League. In ensuing meetings, Iran enjoyed four consecutive 1-0 victories over Korea before it played to a scoreless draw during the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in August 2017.

Yonhap