Korea look to repeat 2019 success in Colombia friendly

Son Heung-min celebrates after scoring Korea's first goal in a friendly with Colombia at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul on March 26, 2019. [NEWS1]

Korea will face Colombia in their first international game since the 2022 Qatar World Cup on Friday with new manager Jurgen Klinsmann on the touchline for the first time.

The friendly between the two sides is the first time they will face each other since 2019, when Korea beat Colombia 2-1 on home soil.

Klinsmann called up the exact same squad that went to Qatar last year apart from two changes due to injury: Oh Hyeon-gyu of Celtic and Lee Ki-je of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings are the two new names on the roster.

In Korea’s 2-1 victory over Colombia in 2019 at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Mapo District, western Seoul, captain Son Heung-min scored the team’s first goal, with Lee Jae-sung scoring the winner.

The Mainz midfielder is part of Klinsmann’s squad alongside Son. Lee has had a successful season in the Bundesliga so far, scoring seven goals and recording three assists in 25 league games.

Hwang Hee-chan of the Wolverhampton Wanderers is one of the players missing from the national team squad, as he was excluded due to an injury he picked up last week.

Oh is expected to fill in for Hwang as the Celtic forward has been on solid form, scoring three goals across 10 games with his new team.

Cho Gue-sung of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, who came to prominence at last year’s World Cup with two goals scored against Ghana in a group stage game, is also in the squad with Oh and will likely carry the Taeguk Warriors’ attack against Colombia.

Cho was the top scorer in the K League last season with 17 goals and has scored one goal in four matches in the 2023 K League so far.

The Colombian national team, on the other hand, arrived in Korea after a quiet winter, having failed to qualify for the World Cup.

The South American side is led by manager Nestor Lorenzo, who took the helm of the team last year after his predecessor Reinaldo Rueda was dropped for failing to qualify for the World Cup.

Colombian star players like James Rodriguez of Olympiacos and Radamel Falcao of Rayo Vallecano are on the roster alongside Son’s teammate Davinson Sanchez of Tottenham Hotspur.

Korea and Colombia have played against each other seven times before, with Korea having recorded four wins, two draws and one loss so far.

The friendly is taking place at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on Friday.

Korea will then face Uruguay next Tuesday for a second friendly match, while Colombia will play their next game against Japan on the same day.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]