South Korea will host a continental football tournament starting this weekend, as the leadership of the new men’s national team head coach faces an early test.

The July 20-28 East Asian Cup will bring together South Korea, Australia, China and Japan on the men’s side, and South Korea, North Korea, China and Japan in the women’s competition.

The biennial round-robin tournament is organized by the East Asian Football Federation. South Korea is hosting the event for the second time. The first men’s tournament was held in 2003 and the women’s competition was launched in 2005.

South Korea won the men’s title in 2003 and again in 2008.

The South Korean men will face Australia on July 20 in Seoul, China on July 24 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, and Japan on July 28 back in Seoul for the finale.

This will be the first international event for the South Korean men’s head coach Hong Myung-bo. He has an unenviable task of trying to win back a frustrated fan base after South Korea, under his predecessor Choi Kang-hee, slogged its way to a World Cup berth. (Yonhap News)