*This content was translated by AI.
One of the opponents of the Korean national soccer team's March A-match warm-up match, which will play in the North American World Cup in 2026, has been confirmed to be Austria. This is the first time for the Korean men's national soccer team to face Austria.
The warm-up match against Austria will be held at 3:45 a.m. Korean time on April 1 (March 31 at 8:45 p.m. local time) at Ernst Havel Stadion in Vienna, the capital of Austria.
Austria's FIFA ranking, led by German coach Ralph Rangnick, is 24th, two places lower than South Korea's, but in Group H of the European qualifiers in North American World Cup, it beat Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina, traditional Eastern European powerhouses, and went straight to the World Cup finals as No. 1 in the group.
It is the first time in 28 years that Austria has returned to the World Cup finals since the 1998 World Cup in France. However, it is evaluated that he has a solid power, beating Poland and the Netherlands in Euro 2024 along with going straight to the World Cup finals.
Major players include captain David Alaba (Real Madrid), who leads the defense skillfully, and Marco Arnautovic (FK Tsurvena Zvezda), who is called "Austria's Zlatan" and has the most goals scored in 130 games with 47 goals. Marcel Zavitzer, who plays for Borussia Dortmund after Bayern Munich and is in charge of the midfield, is also considered a key player.
The warm-up match against Austria is expected to be a practical mock test in preparation for the showdown against the winner of the European Playoff Group D (Denmark, Czech Republic, North Macedonia, and Ireland), which South Korea will face in the first group match of the World Cup.
Meanwhile, the opponent and location of the first match of the national team's two consecutive away games in Europe in March will be announced as soon as it is confirmed.
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*This content was translated by AI.
