The possibility that the A match of the Korean national soccer team will be against Korea and Japan in March has been raised. This is because a high-ranking official of the Japan Football Association mentioned Korea as a candidate for an A-match in March.
According to Japanese media such as Sports Hochi, Sorimachi Yasuharu, technical director of the Japan Football Association, explained the situation related to the Japanese national team’s March A match opponent in an online interview with reporters after the technical committee meeting on the 2nd.
Japan is scheduled to play friendly matches for the national team in Tokyo on the 24th of next month and in Osaka on the 28th, the first FIFA A-Match Week of this year (March 20-28).
Regarding Japan’s counterpart, Sorimachi said, “It has not been decided yet,” and “We are in the process of looking for a strong player.” He suggested the standard of the opponent country, saying, “FIFA ranking is higher than Japan, and we are grateful to the country for being a regular player in the World Cup.”
Currently, Japan’s FIFA ranking is 20th, and Korea is 25th.
In the interview that day, when asked about the possibility of a match against Korea, although the FIFA ranking is lower than Japan, Chairman Sorimachi replied, “I think it is worth considering because Korea is a powerhouse that has advanced to the round of 16 in the World Cup.”
It is not easy for Asian countries such as Korea and Japan to find opponents for friendly matches during the A-match period in March. During this period, the 2024 European Football Championship (Euro 2024) qualifiers will be held in Europe. The 2022-2023 season Nations League will be held in North and Central America and the Caribbean, and the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers will be held in Africa. 스포츠토토
In the end, there is no choice but to find an A-match opponent in South America or Asian countries. The Korea Football Association is promoting invitational matches against South American countries.
Among the 10 South American countries, 6 are candidates, excluding Argentina, which is preparing to host a warm-up match in its home country to celebrate the World Cup victory in Qatar, and Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay, which visited Korea in June last year.
Previously, South American media reported that Uruguay and Colombia would visit Korea and Japan in March to hold an evaluation match.
If both Uruguay and Colombia are able to visit Korea, the war between Korea and Japan will be virtually impossible.