*This content was translated by AI.
It was a "strategic choice" for Austria to choose South Korea as a warm-up match.
The Korea Football Association officially announced on the 20th that Austria was the opponent for the A-match warm-up match in March. The match will be held on April 1 at 3:45 a.m. Korean time (8:45 p.m. local time on March 31) at Ernst Havel Stadion in Vienna, the capital of Austria.
This resulted in the first face-off between South Korea and the Austrian A team. Austria is expected to be a 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.
Austria, led by German coach Ralph Rangnick, ranks 24th in the FIFA rankings, two places lower than South Korea (22nd).
What will be the reaction in Austria. Austrian fans say it is more regrettable than expected. This is because fans wanted to play against European 'big names' such as England and France. Local media also expressed concern that 50,000 tickets for Ernst Havel Stadion, where the game will be held, may not be sold out.
However, this was the intended choice of the Austrian Football Association (OFB). According to Austria's 'Kronen Zeitung', OFB Chairman Bernhard Neujholt said, "We will not intentionally play a warm-up match with a European team." Rather than calling a team with a high name value to chase the box office, it is urgent to adapt to the style of non-European teams to meet in the World Cup finals. In other words, South Korea has been Austria's most realistic and strategic partner in preparation for the World Cup.
Austria advanced directly to the World Cup finals as No. 1 in the group, beating out prominent opponents such as Romania and Bostia-Herzegovina in Group H of the European qualifying round in North American World Cup. It is the first time in 28 years that Austria will go to the World Cup since the 1998 World Cup in France.
For South Korea, Austria is by no means an easy target. In addition to going straight to the World Cup finals, he showed off his power to defeat Poland and the Netherlands in the last Euro 2024. It is expected to be the best opportunity to check Hong Myung-bo's strength ahead of the World Cup as he has proven solid organizational power and power in major competitions.
Kim Hwan, a soccer commentator, also recently told Star News that Austria is a team that can make a splash in the group stage. He said, "There are no clear star players, but the players are evenly outstanding. It's a bit of a shame for the striker and the goalkeeper, but the defense and midfielder are solid. In particular, if you look at midfielders such as Konrad Leimer (Bayern Munich), Marcel Javicher (Dortmund), and Christophe Baumgartner (Lewich), he explained, "They are quite high in the World Cup." "Because the soccer style is quite good, it will be a team worth watching tactically," he said.
Other key players include captain and veteran defender David Alaba (Real Madrid) and Marco Arnautovic (Trvena Zvezda), who is called "Austria's Zlatan" and has the record of most goals (47 goals) in the national team's history.
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*This content was translated by AI.
