"South Korea's request for a friendly match was rejected" confirmed to be a leading candidate for a warm-up match against the World Cup

*This content was translated by AI.

Tunisia's match, which had been mentioned as a leading warm-up match against the 2026 FIFA North American World Cup by the South Korean national soccer team, was finally canceled.

The Tunisian Football Association announced the final schedule of warm-up matches for the World Cup in March and June in preparation for the 2026 North American World Cup on the 22nd (Korea Standard Time).

According to the announcement, the Tunisian national soccer team will play two consecutive games against Haiti and Canada in Canada in March, and then play away matches against Austria and Belgium in Europe in June.

Tunisian media LaPresse added, "The Tunisian Football Association rejected South Korea and Uruguay's request for a warm-up match."

Tunisia, ranked 47th in FIFA rankings, has been considered a strong opponent of South Korea's warm-up match led by head coach Hong Myung-bo.

South Korea belonged to Group A with South Africa, an African team in the North American World Cup, and Tunisia was in Group F with Japan, which seemed to match their interests well with virtual South Africa and virtual Japan, respectively.

In fact, the possibility of a warm-up match between South Korea and Tunisia has been reported by African media, and Tunisia's away match in Canada in March was confirmed first, so the possibility of a warm-up match in June, just before the World Cup, naturally weighed in.

However, as the Tunisian national soccer team confirmed both the schedule for the warm-up match in March and June, the warm-up match against South Korea and Tunisia was also finally canceled.

South Korea, which belongs to Group A of the World Cup finals, has a faster schedule for the first game of the tournament than other teams, so it is not even decided whether it will be held in Korea. Ahead of the World Cup, it is said that the team plans to prepare for the World Cup finals after playing only one warm-up match in Mexico.

South Korea, ranked 22nd in FIFA rankings, will go on an away trip to Europe for the first time in two and a half years in March, but only one away match in Austria (24th in FIFA rankings) has been confirmed.

European strong teams, such as England's warm-up match against Japan, have confirmed their schedule for the warm-up match in March early or are on the road to other continents such as North and Central America, making it difficult for South Korea to find an opponent for the warm-up match in Europe.

The remaining opponent in the warm-up match in March is likely to play a neutral warm-up match against an African team that recently finished the African Football Confederation (CAF) Africa Cup of Nations. Recently, local media in Ivory Coast reported the possibility of an exhibition match with South Korea. Côte d'Ivoire is the 37th-ranked FIFA team.

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*This content was translated by AI.