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S. Korea to host Switzerland final football friendly at home in 2013
By 윤민식Published : Nov. 14, 2013 - 09:59
South Korea will host Switzerland on Friday in the last football friendly match of 2013 on home soil.
The match between the 56th-ranked South Korea and the world No. 7 Switzerland will kick off at 8 p.m. at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
After this match, South Korea will fly to Dubai to face Russia next Tuesday.
This is the first clash between South Korea and Switzerland since 2006. At the FIFA World Cup that year in Germany, Switzerland blanked South Korea 2-0 in the last Group G match, knocking the Asians out of the tournament.
No one from the 2006 squad will be in the lineup this time for South Korea but players have already said they will seek to avenge that loss from seven years ago.
In eight matches under head coach Hong Myung-bo, South Korea has won twice, lost three times and drew another three, with nine goals scored and eight goals allowed.
The total number of goals is somewhat inflated. Seven of the nine goals came in two matches against Haiti and Mali, and South Korea also played three scoreless draws.
Against Switzerland South Korea will have the luxury of two forwards in excellent form as of late. Son Heung-min scored his first career hat trick for Bayer Leverkusen in Bundesliga last weekend. Up front, he will likely team up with his close friend Kim Shin-wook, an Ulsan Hyundai striker who leads the domestic K League Classic with 19 goals.
Kim has scored four times in his last five matches, all victories for Ulsan, currently the league leader by five points with three matches to play.
Son has been a regular presence on the national team of late.
This will be Kim's first international appearance since the East Asian Cup held here in July.
Coach Hong had only used Kim as a substitute during that tournament, and later said the 196-centimeter striker had actually hurt the team's offensive rhythm because wingers and fullbacks only sought to send in long crosses for his head without trying to create chances on the ground.
As he reported to training camp on Tuesday, Kim insisted he'd been working hard to improve his ground game to complement his aerial attack.
Also, both Kim and Son said they were looking forward to playing with each other again. Son is a dynamic possession player who thrives in open space, while Kim is a target striker who has the strength to hold on to the ball and can draw defenders, which in turn would create room for Son and other teammates.
South Korea will be without two injured players against Switzerland. Defensive back Yuk Suk-young is out with an ankle injury. The Doncaster Rovers player in England's second division has been replaced by Park Joo-ho of Mainz 05 in Bundesliga.
Holding midfielder Han Kook-young of Shonan Bellmare in Japan is sidelined with a hip injury.
Both South Korea and Switzerland have qualified for next year's World Cup in Brazil. (Yonhap News)
The match between the 56th-ranked South Korea and the world No. 7 Switzerland will kick off at 8 p.m. at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
After this match, South Korea will fly to Dubai to face Russia next Tuesday.
This is the first clash between South Korea and Switzerland since 2006. At the FIFA World Cup that year in Germany, Switzerland blanked South Korea 2-0 in the last Group G match, knocking the Asians out of the tournament.
No one from the 2006 squad will be in the lineup this time for South Korea but players have already said they will seek to avenge that loss from seven years ago.
In eight matches under head coach Hong Myung-bo, South Korea has won twice, lost three times and drew another three, with nine goals scored and eight goals allowed.
The total number of goals is somewhat inflated. Seven of the nine goals came in two matches against Haiti and Mali, and South Korea also played three scoreless draws.
Against Switzerland South Korea will have the luxury of two forwards in excellent form as of late. Son Heung-min scored his first career hat trick for Bayer Leverkusen in Bundesliga last weekend. Up front, he will likely team up with his close friend Kim Shin-wook, an Ulsan Hyundai striker who leads the domestic K League Classic with 19 goals.
Kim has scored four times in his last five matches, all victories for Ulsan, currently the league leader by five points with three matches to play.
Son has been a regular presence on the national team of late.
This will be Kim's first international appearance since the East Asian Cup held here in July.
Coach Hong had only used Kim as a substitute during that tournament, and later said the 196-centimeter striker had actually hurt the team's offensive rhythm because wingers and fullbacks only sought to send in long crosses for his head without trying to create chances on the ground.
As he reported to training camp on Tuesday, Kim insisted he'd been working hard to improve his ground game to complement his aerial attack.
Also, both Kim and Son said they were looking forward to playing with each other again. Son is a dynamic possession player who thrives in open space, while Kim is a target striker who has the strength to hold on to the ball and can draw defenders, which in turn would create room for Son and other teammates.
South Korea will be without two injured players against Switzerland. Defensive back Yuk Suk-young is out with an ankle injury. The Doncaster Rovers player in England's second division has been replaced by Park Joo-ho of Mainz 05 in Bundesliga.
Holding midfielder Han Kook-young of Shonan Bellmare in Japan is sidelined with a hip injury.
Both South Korea and Switzerland have qualified for next year's World Cup in Brazil. (Yonhap News)
