Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in are all out Oh Hyunkyu from "Frontline" is here! Hong Myung-bo Team unveils starting lineup against Ivory Coast

*This content was translated by AI.

Hong Myung-bo Team's starting lineup has been decided.

The South Korean men's soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play a warm-up match against Ivory Coast at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, England, at 11 p.m. on the 28th (Korea time).

The starting lineup was revealed before the game. Hwang Hee-chan, Oh Hyun-kyu and Bae Jun-ho's attackers, Park Jin-seop and Kim Jin-kyu form the midfield. Seol Young-woo, Kim Min-jae, Cho Yoo-min, Kim Tae-hyun and Kim Moon-hwan will be on the defense. Kim Seung-gyu protects the goal.

Key European players such as Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in and Lee Jae-sung start on the bench.

This game is a 'final mock test' aimed at South Africa, the opponent of Group A in the 2026 FIFA 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup group stage.

His opponent Ivory Coast is ranked 37th in the FIFA rankings, lower than South Korea (22nd), but his power is higher than that of an ambush. Most of the squads, including Ahmad Diallo (Manchester United), Nicola Pepe (Villarreal), and Odilong Kosunu (Atalanta), are made up of European big league main players.

In particular, the "iron wall defense," which scored 25 points in 10 African qualifying games, is a mountain that Hong Myung-bo Team's offense must overcome.

South Korea is ahead with one win in all-time records against Ivory Coast, which was once called the "country of Drogba." During the warm-up match in London in 2010, Lee Dong-guk and Kwak Tae-hwi scored consecutive goals to win 2-0.

Against Ivory Coast, which will make the World Cup finals for the first time in 12 years, South Korea plans to check its competitiveness by operating the best lineup with all overseas players.

Meanwhile, after the match, the national team will move to Vienna, Austria, and continue its second warm-up match with Austria on the 1st of next month.

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*This content was translated by AI.