Korea Republic vs Costa Rica
South Korea and Costa Rica are planning to have an International Friendly this Friday at the Goyang Stadium to prepare ahead for the World Cup 2022 this November.
Cameroon and Uzbekistan will also join these two nations at Goyang for a couple of friendlies, although the latter don’t have much to play for since they’re not in the World Cup.
In football’s showpiece event at Qatar, South Korea are placed in Group H alongside Ghana, Uruguay, and Portugal, while Costa Rica will play alongside Japan, Germany, and Spain in Group E.
The pre-match SBOTOP International Friendly 2022 odds are stacked against Los Ticos in this contest since the Taeguk Warriors have fared generally well at home and they’re the better team on paper.
Continue to read on below for the preview of this game.
Talking Points
Heung-Min Son and Kim Min-Jae will take charge for Korea Republic
Just like before, Paulo Bento’s team is going to be headlined by his European-based players, including Heung-Min Son of Tottenham, Kim Min-Jae of Napoli, Hwang Hee-Chan of Wolves, and Lee Kang-In from Mallorca.
The only notable change he made in his 26-man squad was the omission of veteran goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-Woo since he’s dealing with knee issues, so Jeju United shotstopper Kim Dong-Jun will take his place between the sticks.
All eyes are going to be on Heung-Min Son since he’s their best player. The Tottenham forward is certainly going to shine in Qatar, especially after he finally opened his scoring account this season in the last time out.
Son started out slow for 2022-23 considering he’s fresh from winning the Premier League Golden Boot last term. He couldn’t find the back of the net in his first eight games across all competitions, although neither Antonio Conte nor Paulo Bento were worried.
Last Sunday, Son reminded everyone what he’s capable of as he recorded a 14-minute hat-trick against Leicester City to lead Tottenham to a 6-2 victory.
On the other side of the pitch, Kim Min-Jae is another Korean star to watch out for.
He enters the international break in good form as he has already scored two Serie A goals for Napoli this season – against Monza and Lazio. With the 25-year-old centre-back leading their defencive unit, Napoli have only conceded five league goals and one in the Champions League.
Kim is only the third Korean ever to play in Italian top-flight. He joined I Partenopei this summer as a replacement for Chelsea-bound Kalidou Koulibaly.
He’ll rejoin the national team after he was sidelined during the summer friendlies while he recovered from ankle surgery. Since Kim is the de facto leader of their backline, his return comes at a crucial time ahead of Qatar.
Costa Rica have an aging roster
With their stars getting older, Costa Rica are a team in transition.
As of the moment, Los Ticos’ most recognisable player is Keylor Navas. The 35-year-old is going to be available to play after suffering a back injury and he’ll use this opportunity to re-establish himself as one of the world’s top shotstoppers.
Joining him are fellow veterans Joe Campbell, Bryan Ruiz, and Celso Borges – who have combined for 414 caps and 81 goals.
Los Ticos’ could use a little revamp and they have a couple of young homegrown players who can thrive under team manager Luis Fernando Suarez.
Anthony Contreras and Gerson Torres are both under 25 years of age and they have already tallied 19 caps and three goals total.
History
Prior to their Friday meeting, South Korea and Costa Rica have squared off in nine matches.
The Taeguk Warriors have the slight advantage in the overall head-to-heads with four wins, while Los Ticos have won three times along with two draws.
Their last matchup took place in September 2018 also in Goyang where the hosts claimed a 2-0 victory as they scored one goal in both halves. The said victory was Paulo Bento’s head coaching debut for the Taeguk Warriors.
South Korea have played in four exhibition games in a 13-day span back in June where they had mixed International Friendly 2022 results. They suffered a 5-1 beatdown at the hands of Brazil, but they defeated Chile 2-0, drawn 2-2 against Paraguay, and routed Egypt 4-1.
On the other hand, Costa Rica are in good recent form as they’ve won three and lost only once in their last four competitive games, beating New Zealand, Martinique, and USA with an aggregate tally of 5-0, and their only defeat was against Panama (2-0).
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