Overview
South Korea continues to affirm its position as one of the familiar teams at the World Cup. "Taegeuk Warriors" convincingly won tickets to participate in the upcoming tournament, maintaining an unbeaten record after 16 matches (11 wins, 5 draws).
This is the 11th consecutive time South Korea has participated in the biggest football festival on the planet. The official ticket was confirmed after the 2-0 victory over Iraq in June. Coach Hong Myung-bo's team also closed the qualifying round with a victory over Kuwait in the final match.
South Korea's form in recent times has been very impressive. Since June 2023, they have only lost 3 out of 37 matches (won 24, drew 10). Under coach Hong Myung-bo alone, this team has only suffered 2 defeats after 19 matches.
After a heavy stumble against Brazil in the October gathering, South Korea quickly regained stability. They won three consecutive victories, including a win against Ghana, while keeping a clean sheet in all 3 matches and scoring a total of 5 goals.
Currently ranked 22nd in the FIFA rankings, South Korea aims to maintain their form when facing opponents ranked 15 places below. The achievement of 7 wins in the last 9 away matches further strengthens the confidence of the Asian representative.
The upcoming match is also considered an important warm-up before they enter the journey at the World Cup, where South Korea is expected to face African representatives, including South Africa in the last group stage match.
In the remaining part, Ivory Coast enters the tournament with no small expectations when they are in the same group as Ecuador, Germany and Curacao. The African representative needs to create positive psychological momentum before the World Cup, especially after the 2-3 defeat to Egypt in the recent AFCON quarter-finals.
This defeat ended Ivory Coast's 5-match unbeaten streak (4 wins, 1 draw). However, they still showed clear progress under coach Emerse Fae, who once led the team to the continental championship in 2023.
In the World Cup qualifiers, Ivory Coast also showed strength when they topped the group with an unbeaten record after 10 matches (8 wins, 2 draws), thereby winning a ticket to participate in the finals for the fourth time in history and the first time since 2014.
Personnel situation
Hong Myung-bo has announced the squad for the upcoming match. Notably, center-back Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) is still expected to be an important stopper in the defense.
In attack, Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) is likely to take on the right flank, similar to in the match against Ghana. On the opposite side, captain Son Heung-min is expected to continue to be the main spearhead.
With 55 goals for the national team, Son Heung-min is currently the number one scorer in Korean history. He is also facing the opportunity to narrow the gap with the all-time scoring record of legend Cha Bum-kun (58 goals).
On the other side, Ivory Coast will not have the service of Yan Diomande due to a shoulder injury sustained when playing for Leipzig. This absence opens up an opportunity for Nicolas Pepe to return to the squad after missing out on AFCON.
Meanwhile, Amad Diallo is expected to participate in this gathering and is likely to take on the familiar right winger position in the Ivory Coast squad.
Expected lineup:
Korea: Song, Seol, Cho, Park, Kim, Tae-Seok, Kang-In, Castrop, Kwon, Son, Oh.
Ivory Coast: Y. Fofana, Doue, Kossounou, Ndicka, Konan, Kessie, Sangare, Inao Oulai, Diallo, Guessand, Adingra.
The match between South Korea and Ivory Coast takes place at 9:00 PM on March 28th (Vietnam time).
