South Korea to Face Moldova After Impressive Iceland Display

South Korea will play its second friendly against Moldova on Friday after their convincing victory over Iceland last weekend.  There were several positives to come from the match, including several players registering their first goals in the national team shirt.  More than anything, the win will infuse a dose of confidence into the group with World Cup qualifiers in the near future, as will the news of the arrival of several international-based players to training camp next week, after which the final squad for matches against Lebanon and Syria will be determined.  KLU's Branko Belan previews the encounter.

(Photo credit: The Korea Times via KFA)

Five Goal Burst Derails Iceland

South Korea put on one of their best team performances in their win against Iceland, finding the back of the net on five occasions.  Cho Gue-sung, Kwon Chang-hoon, and Paik Seung-ho all scored for the Taeguk Warriors in the first half.  For Cho and Paik, it was the first time for them to score against their country.  Kim Jin-kyu and Eom Ji-sung would add goals after the interval as they also became first-time scorers in the national shirt.

Overall, it was a complete display from Paulo Bento's men.  The ball movement was cleaner and runs off the ball created several chances in the final third.  Ball possession was more efficient than in previous matches and considering that players are in pre-season form, they managed well over the ninety minutes in terms of fitness.  

Bento made just one change, with second half substitute Eom adding his name to the scoresheet with five minutes remaining.  If they can put together another solid outing on Friday, it could give the Portuguese bench boss more depth options for future camps down the line.  The 5-1 scoreline is also the largest margin of victory for the men's national team ever against a European side, with the previous best being a 4-1 success under Guus Hiddink against Scotland in 2002.

Moldova on Bad Run of Form

Moldova managed just a single point in their qualifying group for the World Cup in Qatar, scoring just five goals in ten matches while conceding thirty.  This included an 8-0 thrashing at the hands of Denmark last March.  They have won just once dating back to last year, a 1-0 friendly win against Azerbaijan in June.

They played a friendly match against Uganda earlier in the week, and, despite taking an early two goal lead, found a way to fall to defeat, as a pair of spot kicks from Patrick Kaddu and a single goal from Milton Karisa were enough to turn the match around after Dmitri Mandrîcenco and Mihai Plătică had given them the lead.

They will use the match against South Korea as a test to prepare them for their Nations League playoff tie upcoming against Kazakhstan in late March.

Reinforcements Arriving Next Week

The squad will be bolstered for World Cup qualifiers when players based internationally will join the rest of the team in Turkey next week.  Kim Min-jae, Lee Jae-sung, Jung Woo-young, Jeong Woo-young, Hwang In-beom, and Hwang Ui-jo will arrive on the 24th, giving them a session or two to train with the rest of the group before heading to Lebanon for the first qualifier on the 27th.

The statuses of Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan are still very much up in the air with both players still sidelined by injury, and according to Bento, it is a wait-and-see process where both players are concerned.  With the overseas arrivals, squad decisions will have to be made, but Bento has chosen to wait until both friendlies have been played before going public in order to keep players fully motivated.  All of the cuts will most likely involve domestic players.

Only One Previous Meeting

The teams have met only once previously, also in a friendly match during South Korea's preparations for the 2018 World Cup in Russia while Shin Tae-yong was in charge.  South Korea picked up a 1-0 victory, with Kim Shin-wook scoring the only goal of the match in the 68th minute.