Korea Republic vs Colombia

High-flying Colombia head to Ulsan’s Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium to take on the Korea Republic in an international friendly.

A thumping 4-1 defeat at the hands of CONMEBOL heavyweights Brazil in the 2022 World Cup last-16 proved too hard to digest for the Korea Republic powerbrokers, as they dismissed long-serving manager Paulo Bento immediately after the tournament. Jurgen Klinsmann will take his place in the dugout, looking to prepare the ‘Taegeuk Warriors’ for next year’s Asian Cup. The upcoming clash against Colombia seems to be a prime opportunity for Klinsmann to get his managerial tenure off to a flying start, with the Koreans dominating their seven previous H2Hs against the CONMEBOL outfit with four triumphs and a single loss (D2). On top of their impressive H2H record versus Colombia, Klinsmann’s men have gone from strength to strength in friendly fixtures, losing just four out of 25 since June 2018 (W13, D8).

As for Colombia, a failed attempt to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time since 2010 was the end of the road for underperforming manager Reinaldo Rueda, with new coach Nestor Lorenzo excelling in his early games in charge of ‘Los Cafeteros.’ Before being held to a tepid 0-0 draw against the United States in January, Lorenzo had won his first three international friendlies in charge of Colombia by an aggregate score of 9-3, helping his team rediscover their scoring touch following a series of low-scoring appearances down the final stretch of Rueda’s abysmal reign. Like their hosts, the Colombians have flourished in international friendlies over the years, going down just four times in their last 37 exhibition outings (W24, D9).