S. Korea to host Iceland in final World Cup tuneup on Nov. 11

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will host Iceland in their final match at home before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar next month, the national football federation announced Tuesday.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said South Korea will face Iceland at 8 p.m. on Nov. 11 at Hwaseong Sports Complex Main Stadium in Hwaseong, about 40 kilometers south of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province.

In this file photo from Sept. 27, 2022, South Korea head coach Paulo Bento gives a thumbs-up during his team's friendly match against Cameroon at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul. (Yonhap)

Head coach Paulo Bento is scheduled to announce his final World Cup roster on Nov. 12, and the team will fly to Qatar on Nov. 14, 10 days before South Korea's first Group H match against Uruguay.

Last Friday, the KFA announced a 27-man training camp roster, made up entirely of players from leagues in South Korea, Japan, China and Qatar. Since the Iceland match isn't part of the FIFA international match window, European clubs aren't obliged to release their South Korean players for the occasion.

Bento will instead get a final look at Asian league players who are on the bubble for spots on the final squad.

The KFA said the training camp for the Iceland game will open Friday at the National Football Center in Paju, some 30 km north of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province.

South Korea defeated Iceland 5-1 in January this year in their only previous meeting.

Iceland are ranked 62nd in the world, 34 spots below South Korea, and will not be competing in this year's World Cup.

After Uruguay, South Korea will face Ghana on Nov. 28 and then Portugal on Dec. 2.

South Korea will be playing in their 10th consecutive World Cup. They have made it past the group stage twice, reaching the semifinals in 2002 and then the round of 16 in 2010.