Spurs vs. K League — what to look out for as Premier League club takes on Korean challengers

Football

Published: 12 Jul. 2022, 15:26

Spurs vs. K League — what to look out for as Premier League club takes on Korean challengers

Tottenham players, including Son Heung-min, front right, and Harry Kane, front left, warm up during a training session at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul on Monday. [NEWS1]

Tottenham Hotspur will take on Team K League at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Wednesday in the first of two exhibition games as part of the Coupang Play Series, as the Premier League squad starts to warm up for the 2022-23 season with a game against the very best the domestic league has to offer.

For Tottenham, facing Team K League in the middle of Seoul provides a number of opportunities: It gives the team a chance to get used to playing together with a revamped lineup, it gives manager Antonio Conte an opportunity to see what he's working with in a competitive environment, it allows the coaches to get a glimpse of some of Korea's up-and-coming stars and gives the organization a chance to reach out to local fans and hopefully give the club an extra popularity boost.

Wednesday's game will be important for Spurs from a purely tactical perspective. It will be the first opportunity for Conte to test the club's newest signees, including Richarlison and Ivan Perisic.

Spurs kicked off their pre-season training last week with four new faces — Perisic, Fraser Forster, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr. Richarlison joined the club later in the week, and Spurs also signed Clement Lenglet, although the French international has not traveled to Korea.

Perisic, Forster, Bissouma, Sarr and Richarlison are all on the 28-man squad that traveled to Korea, alongside the majority of the regular Spurs XI. Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele, Sergio Reguilon, Harry Winks and Joe Rodon are the only players that didn't make the trip, staying in London due to health concerns or possible upcoming moves.

During training on Monday, Conte tried out a three-man frontline with Son Heung-min, Harry Kane and Richarlison out in front. Some variation of that lineup is likely to return on Wednesday as the Italian manager looks to utilize his newest striker.

Conte has plenty of other attacking midfielder options to choose from, however, and may well try out a few different pairs of legs, with Perisic and Bissouma also looking to slot into the squad and Dejan Kulusevski haven't proven to slot in perfectly with Kane and especially Son last season. Both Perisic and Kulusevski were unable to complete the full training on Monday, however, due to health concerns.

One offensive guarantee is that Son and Kane are likely to see plenty of time on the pitch, both as the cornerstones of the Spurs attack and also because they are who a lot of Korean fans will have paid to see. Defender Ben Davies, a Korean favorite since his time at Swansea with Ki Sung-yueng, will be another name local fans are looking out for.

The thing that may cause Spurs some issues — and potentially give Team K League a bit of an edge — is the weather. The London club has arrived in Korea in the middle of the rainy season, when high temperatures combine with extremely high humidity to create oppressive conditions that often make any sort of exercise unbearable. While the K League players have years of conditioning playing through the heat and humidity, the vast majority of the Tottenham squad are used to a far cooler climate.

Tottenham players struggle with the heat during a break in training at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul on Monday. [YONHAP]

That concern was on full display during training on Monday, when Conte lead the squad through grueling physical drills that left half the squad — including Son and Kane — lying gasping on the floor as they struggled to adapt to the heat.

From the K League side, Wednesday's game is a chance for the players to test out their skills against a very strong opponent and maybe see if they might have what it takes to make it in the European league. There are also bragging rights at stake — Team K League will be looking to put up a good fight to prove that the local league is competitive.

Under the management of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors manager Kim Sang-sik assisted by Suwon FC manager Kim Do-kyun, the K League selected two players from each of the 12 top tier clubs to create a 240-man squad for Wednesday's game.

It's a strong team. Eleven of the chosen 24 have previously been called up to the Korean national team, with three regular starters on the squad. Five of the league's international players also made the squad, and three of the current top five on the K League goal ranking.

Seongnam FC defender Kim Ji-su poses for a photo in the Team K League uniform, unveiled by the K League for the Coupang Play Series on Monday. [YONHAP]

Among the players to watch on Wednesday are former Barcelona prospect Lee Seung-woo, K League No. 2 scorer Joo Min-kyu and national team rising star Cho Gue-sung.

Lee, a former top prospect who spent most of his career in Europe, is currently reinventing himself in the Korean league after his career overseas ground to a halt last year. So far he has found success, scoring eight goals this season. Joo is currently second on the K League goals table, but won the league's Golden Boot last year with 22 goals.

Cho, along with Gimcheon Sangmu teammate Kwon Chang-hoon, is an increasingly common addition to the Korean national team and scored in the Taeguk Warriors last match, against Egypt on June 14. Kwon also has experience playing in Europe, as does Kim Jin-su, Lars Veldwijk, Gerso Fernandes, Dave Bulthuis and Aleskander Palocevic.

Cho Gue-sung, along with midfielder Cho Young-wook, may also have the most to gain from Wednesday's fixture. Both Chos are young, dynamic footballers with extremely promising careers ahead of them that could include playing in Europe. For the two young players, Wednesday's game is a chance to get their names out there, although Cho Gue-sung will need to complete his military service before he thinks about moving to greener pastures.

Tottenham Hotspur will take on Team K League at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul, at 8 p.m. on Wednesday. The game will also be available to view on Coupang Play.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]