The national soccer team will face ‘Middle East powerhouse’ Saudi Arabia after failing to find an opponent for its September A match trial.
According to the Korea Football Association, Klinsmann’s second opponent for the September A Match is likely to be Saudi Arabia.
After playing at home during the March and June A matches, the national team will be traveling to Europe in September. As early as September 8, the team has confirmed that it will play its first trial against the Welsh national team at Cardiff Stadium in Wales.
The problem is that the team will have to play two trials in September, and the other team has yet to be confirmed. Mexico, a North and Central American powerhouse, was initially considered as a possible opponent, but negotiations broke down due to incompatible TV times in their home country.
This left FIFA scrambling to find a second A-Match opponent. However, it was not possible to organize another European team for the September A-Match due to the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
In stark contrast, Japan, who are also traveling to Europe during the September A-Match, have already scheduled trials against Germany and Turkuye.
Saudi Arabia, a potential opponent for the second match of the September A Match, is not a bad choice, given the difficulty in finding an opponent for an exhibition match.
Although the Klinsmanns are aiming for the 2026 North and Central American World Cup, their primary goal is the Asian Cup next January, so the Saudis are a good sparring partner as they are likely to compete for the title.바카라사이트
Saudi Arabia is currently ranked 54th in the FIFA rankings, which is lower than South Korea’s 28th place, but the team showed its prowess at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar last year, defeating Lionel Messi’s Argentina 2-1.
In addition, Klinsmann’s team is reportedly pushing for an exhibition match against Vietnam during the October A match at home, indicating that they are strictly focused on the Asian Cup.
Japan, on the other hand, is preparing for the Asian Cup by playing two exhibition games against European teams in September’s A matches, and in October, they will play against tough opponents such as Canada and Tunisia.
It will be interesting to see how these two nations will fare in the real test, as their preparation for the Asian Cup is very different.