South Korea will open camp this weekend in preparation for the FIFA U-20 World Cup at home.
Head coach Shin Tae-yong will assemble his U-20 players on Sunday at the National Football Center in Paju, north of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province. They will also host a four-nation invitational tournament from March 25 to 30.
The draw for the FIFA U-20 World Cup takes place in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on March 15, 2017. (Yonhap)
The U-20 World Cup will take place from May 20 to June 11 in six cities. In a draw held Wednesday, South Korea ended up in Group A with Argentina, England and Guinea, in what many feel is the proverbial "Group of Death."
For the quadrennial competition, 24 nations are divided into six groups of four. The top two countries from each will advance to the knockout round, along with the four best third-place nations.
The upcoming South Korean camp will include a pair of FC Barcelona youth players: Paik Seung-ho and Lee Seung-woo. Both made strong impressions during the January camp in Portugal.
For the four-nation event, Shin is expected to call up about 25 players. The Korea Football Association is in talks with Mexico, a team from South America and another from Africa. The full squads and the opponents will likely be announced this week.
Guinea had been in consideration until the African nation got paired with South Korea in Group A.
In addition to the friendly tournament, South Korea will try to schedule an additional tune-up match or two in early May against U-20 World Cup participants in other groups, such as Zambia (Group C), Senegal (Group F), South Africa (Group D), Honduras (Group E), Costa Rica (Group C), Venezuela (Group B) and Ecuador (Group F). (Yonhap)