"World Cup final mock test." Coach Hong Myung-bo's departure from Europe... Ivory Coast vs Austria

*This content was translated by AI.

Hong Myung-bo Team left for Europe for the final mock test before the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North Korea and China.

The national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, departed for London, England via Incheon International Airport on the morning of the 23rd. The main team is composed of coach Hong Myung-bo and other K-League and Asian league players such as Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan), Song Beom-geun (Jeonbuk), Park Jin-seop (storage), Kim Jin-kyu (Jeonbuk), and Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon).

Overseas players such as national team captain Son Heung-min (Los Angeles FC), vice-captain Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), ace Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and iron wall Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) will join the team locally. After arriving in London, the national team will move to the neighboring Milton Keynes to conduct a call-up training session.

South Korea, ranked 22nd in FIFA, will face the 37th-ranked Ivory Coast at 11 p.m. on the 28th (Korea Standard Time) at Milton Keynes Stadium MK in England. Then, on April 1, at 3:45 a.m., he will face 24th-ranked Austria at Ernst Havel Stadion in Vienna, Austria. The opponents are custom sparring partners to prepare for the South African and European playoff (PO) Pass D winners who will meet in Group A of the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup group stage.

Cote d'Ivoire has European big leaguers such as Ahmad Diallo (Manchester United) and Evan Ndica (AS Roma), making it suitable for checking Africa's unique elasticity. South Korea will reunite with the Ivory Coast for the first time in 16 years since Lee Dong-guk and Kwak Tae-hwi won 2-0 in a warm-up match just before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Austria, which will face off for the first time, is also a strong team with former and current teammates of the national team, including Konrad Raimer (Munich) and Kevin Danso (Tottenham Hotspur).

In fact, the two consecutive games are the last warm-up match before the final entry of the World Cup. In the past, coach Shin Tae-yong during the 2018 World Cup in Russia or coach Paulo Bento during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar also outlined the final list immediately after the warm-up match in March. Coach Hong Myung-bo also said at a press conference to announce the call-up list, "We have not confirmed the final list of the World Cup yet," and predicted infinite competition, saying, "We will select the players with the best performance and physical condition right before the main competition."

Coach Hong Myung-bo, in particular, plans to actively check the resources that have recently emerged, such as Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic) and Hong Hyun-seok (Hent). Regarding Yang Hyun-joon, he said, "He is maintaining a much better performance than the previous convocation." We also experiment with tactical flexibility through Jens Kastroff, which is classified as a defense.

In addition, head coach Hong Myung-bo said, "It is most important to maintain the direction," adding, "The key to this two consecutive games is to understand how competitive we can be in the main race."

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*This content was translated by AI.