South Korea will round off their preparations for the 2022 World Cup, which gets underway on November 20, with a friendly against Iceland on Friday morning.
Paulo Bento's side played two friendlies at the end of September, and they now have one more fixture before their Group H campaign gets underway against Uruguay on November 24.
Match preview
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South Korea have been present in every World Cup since 1986, largely failing to advance through the group stages, but they famously finished fourth in the 2002 competition.
The Tigers of Asia reached the round of 16 in 2010, meanwhile, but they have been eliminated in the groups in their last two tournaments in 2014 and 2018.
Paulo Bento's side will have to be at their best to navigate a difficult Group H, which also includes Portugal, Uruguay and Ghana.
South Korea will begin their World Cup against Uruguay on November 24 before facing Ghana four days later; the national team will then round off their group stage against Portugal on December 2.
Bento's team have only actually lost one of their last eight matches in all competitions and recorded a 1-0 victory over Cameroon in their last international fixture at the end of September.
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Iceland, meanwhile, famously qualified for the finals of the 2018 World Cup, which proved to be their first ever participation in the competition.
Our Boys were unable to make a serious impression in the tournament, though, ultimately finishing fourth in Group D behind Croatia, Argentina and Nigeria.
Arnar Vidarsson's side suffered a 1-0 defeat to Saudi Arabia on Sunday, and they will follow this fixture with a clash against Lithuania in the semi-finals of the Baltic Cup.
Iceland will be looking ahead to next year's Euro 2024 qualification matches, with the national side bidding to be present in the finals of the competition.
The team managed to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2016, famously overcoming England in the round of 16 before seeing their journey ended by France in the final eight.
Team News
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South Korea will have captain Son Heung-min available for the start of the World Cup despite the attacker being forced to undergo surgery last week on an eye fracture.
The Tottenham Hotspur forward would not have been with the squad for this match regardless of his fitness, though, due to club commitments, and there will be some notable absentees for this friendly.
Head coach Bento still has plenty of experience to call upon, though, with the likes of Kim Seung-gyu, Kim Young-gwon, Jung Woo-young and Kwon Chang-hoon all expected to start here.
As for Iceland, captain Aron Gunnarsson is comfortably the most experienced player in the squad, with head coach Vidarsson only choosing from a limited pool due to the season not yet coming to a halt.
There are expected to be chances for Ottar Magnus Karlsson and Danijel Djuric in the final third of the field, while Viktor Karl Einarsson should feature in midfield.
Frederik Schram is the most experienced goalkeeper in the squad with five caps, and he is expected to be given the nod for the first whistle on Friday.
South Korea possible starting lineup:
Seung-gyu; Young-gwon, Jin-su, Chul, Kyung-won; Woo-young, Chang-hoon, Sang-ho, Jun-ho; Gue-sung, Hyeon-gyu
Iceland possible starting lineup:
Schram; Gunnlaugsson, Muminovic, Tomasson, Margeirsson; Gunnarrson, Einarsson, Magnusson; Karlsson, Djuric, Magnusson
We say: South Korea 1-0 Iceland
South Korea still do not have their full squad in place, but they will fancy their chances of overcoming an understrength Iceland on Friday. We are not expecting there to be much between the two sides, though, with perhaps just the one goal separating them at the end of the contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
