Bento's boys face a tough challenge in Brazil friendly

Korean national team head coach Paulo Bento, left, announces his 28-men squad on Monday at Korea Football Association Hall in central Seoul. [YONHAP]

Korean national team head coach Paulo Bento called up his squad for four upcoming international friendlies on Monday.

Korea will first face Brazil at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul on June 2,.before taking on Chile at Daejeon World Cup Stadium in Daejeon on June 6 and Paraguay at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, Gyeonggi on June 10.

One more friendly will be played on June 14, but the opponent for that fourth match has not been announced yet.

Korea's four friendlies are supposed to provide an important opportunity for the team to practice playing together ahead of the World Cup at the end of the year, but with a number of key players injured or underperforming, Bento has not been able to field his ideal squad.

The four goalkeeper spots all went to familiar faces: Kim Seung-gyu of Japanese club Kashiwa Reysol, Kim Dong-jun of Jeju United, Song Bum-keun of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Jo Hyeon-woo of Ulsan Hyundai.

Bento called up 10 defenders — Kwon Young-gwon of Ulsan Hyundai, Kwon Kyung-won of Japanese club Gamba Osaka, Jung Seung-hyun of Gimcheon Sangmu, Cho Yu-min of K League 2 club Daejeon Hana Citizen, Kim Moon-hwan of Jeonbuk, Kim Jin-su of Jeonbuk, Kim Tae-hwan of Ulsan, Lee Yong of Jeonbuk, Pak Min-gyu of Suwon FC and Hong Chul of Ulsan — with the very noticeable absence of injured center back Kim Min-jae of Fenerbahce.

In midfield, international stars Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur, Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Jung Woo-young of Al-Sadd and Jeong Woo-yeong of SC Freiburg are joined by Paik Seung-ho, Kim Jin-gyu and Song Min-kyu of Jeonbuk, Kim Dong-hyun of Gangwon FC, Hwang In-beom and Na Sang-ho of FC Seoul and Ko Seung-beom and Kwon Chang-hoon of Sangmu.

National team regular Lee Jae-sung of FSV Mainz is noticeably missing from the roster, as is Hertha BSC's Lee Dong-jun. The two forward spots went to Hwang Ui-jo of Bordeaux and Cho Gue-sung of Sangmu.

Both Cho Yu-min and Kim Dong-hyun made the Taeguk Warriors roster for the first time in their career.

Lee Dong-jun, Lee Jae-sung and Kim Min-jae are all absent due to injuries. Lee Dong-jun and Lee Jae-sung are both out with knee injuries, while Kim Min-jae underwent surgery on his foot last month.

Form is also something of a concern for those players that are fit to play.

Son alone enters the friendlies in emphatic form, having scored two goals in the last Spurs match of the season over the weekend to become the first Asian footballer ever to win the Premier League Golden Boot. The rest of the offensive lineup, however, have had a far less impressive end to the season.

Hwang Hee-chan returns to Korea in the midst of a dry spell that has seen him unable to score since February. He finished his first season in the Premier League on Sunday with five goals and one assist over 30 appearances as the midlands club finished 10th on the table.

Hwang Ui-jo of Bordeaux has scored just once in the last 12 matches for Bordeaux, despite being the club's best scorer this season with 11 goals. Bordeaux finished their Ligue 1 season at the bottom of the standings and will be relegated.

If the attacking pair can overcome their recent struggle, the four friendlies could offer a good chance for the national team to warm up with six months still to go before the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Korea currently stands at 29th in the FIFA rankings, the third-highest Asian country after No. 21 Iran and No. 23 Japan.

In March, Korea was placed in Group H in the draw for the World Cup, leaving the Taeguk Warriors with some serious competition in the form of Portugal, Uruguay and Ghana.

The 2022 Qatar World Cup will kick off on Nov. 21 in Doha.

Korea's first game against Uruguay is on Nov. 24. Korea will then face Ghana on Nov. 28, before rounding out the group stage with a game against Portugal on Dec. 2.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]