South Korea will play against Iceland and Sweden to prepare for the FIFA Women's World Cup, the national football governing body said Thursday.
The Korea Football Association said the women's football team will play two friendly matches with Iceland at home in April and will take on Sweden on the road in May before entering the Women's World Cup, where South Korea is in Group A with Norway, Nigeria and hosts France.
The Taeguk Ladies, 14th in the latest FIFA rankings, will first welcome No. 22 Iceland in Yongin, south of Seoul, on April 6 and face them again on April 9. The venue for the second friendly has yet to be confirmed.
In this file photo taken on Feb. 21, 2019, South Korea women`s national football team players train at the National Football Center in Paju, north of Seoul. (Yonhap)
It will be the first meeting between South Korea and Iceland in women's football. The KFA said although Iceland didn't qualify for the Women's World Cup, they will be good sparring partners for South Korea.
After the April friendlies, the KFA said the women's squad will have two weeks of training at the National Football Center in Paju, north of Seoul, from May 7. After confirming the final 23-player roster for the Women's World Cup, South Korea will depart for Varberg, Sweden, on May 22.
South Korea will then go head-to-head against world No. 9 Sweden at Gamla Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden, on May 31.
Sweden is in the same group with the United States, Chile and Thailand in this year's Women's World Cup.
South Korea has one draw and one loss against Sweden. Their last meeting at Algarve Cup in March 2018 ended in a 1-1 draw.
South Korea, led by head coach Yoon Duk-yeo, is looking for their second-straight knockout stage appearance at the Women's World Cup.
At the 2019 Women's World Cup, there are 24 participants and they are divided into six groups of four. The top two teams of each group, and the four best third-placed teams, will advance to the round of 16.
"In order to reach the knockout stage, we must collect as many points as we can against European teams," Yoon said. "Through the April and May friendly matches, we'll especially focus on finding solutions to beat Norway." (Yonhap)
