International Friendly: Midweek Tune-Up Will Help Korea and Iceland

Korea Republic vs Iceland

South Korea continue their preparations ahead of World Cup 2022 as they’ll host Iceland for an International Friendly this Friday at the Hwaesong Sports Complex.

The Taeguk Warriors had a training camp last month with only players mostly from the Asian leagues. But this time, head coach Paulo Bento can fully evaluate his roster since they’ll have some of their European-based players back in the fold.

Iceland, on the other hand, don’t have a World Cup to worry about and they’re focused on building momentum ahead of their matchup versus Lithuania in the Baltic Cup semi-finals next week.

The pre-match SBOTOP betting odds are backing the hosts to win, but their visitors are not going to fold easily.  Overall, this should be an interesting fixture that football fans can look forward to.

Talking Points

South Korea have concerns up front

With Heung-Min Son’s World Cup status up in the air, Paulo Bento is left scrambling for options up front since the Tottenham star is undoubtedly their best player.

Son suffered a bad eye injury in the first half of Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Marseille last week. He underwent surgery for his fractured eye socket this week, so he’s fighting against time to make it to Qatar.

Both Antonio Conte and Paulo Bento are confident that Son will make it, though, but they won’t make him available against Iceland. Like most athletes over the years who had facial injuries, we might see Son wear the iconic protective mask in Qatar.

Two other European-based forwards Hwang Hee-Chan and Hwang Ui-Jo have struggled to get on the pitch for Wolves and Olympiakos respectively, so there’s a valid question on whether they’ll round into form come Qatar.

This opens an opportunity for Cho Gue-Sung to re-establish himself up front. This season, the reigning K League 1 scoring champion netted 17 goals in 31 games, and he’s capable of producing International Friendly 2022 highlights against Iceland.

South Korea won’t have the same problems at the back under the leadership of Kim Min-Jae. The Napoli centre-back has been one of the best Serie A players this season as he’s done a superb job filling in the void left by Kalidou Koulibaly this summer.

Iceland to feature some up-and-coming stars

Since Iceland are not going to compete in World Cup 2022, they will soon turn their attention to next year’s Euro 2024 qualification, where they’re grouped alongside Bosnia and Herzegovina, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovakia, and Liechtenstein.

With veterans like Gylfi Sigurðsson and skipper Aron Gunnarsson approaching their late 30s, now is the perfect time for Arnar Viðarsson to start rebuilding using their younger players.

Giving more opportunities to Ottar Magnus Karlsson is a good way to start since he’s the joint-leading goalscorer for Iceland alongside Aron Gunnarsson with two goals. The 25-year-old forward is currently playing for USL Championship club Oakland Roots, on loan from Serie B side Venezia.

Fellow forwards Jason Daði Svanþórsson and Ísak Þorvaldsson will also get their chance, while Logi Tomasson could potentially make his senior national team debut on Friday.

History

This game marks the second-ever competitive meeting between these two nations. Their last encounter took place in January where South Korea overwhelmed Iceland in a resounding 5-1 victory during an international friendly match in Antalya, Turkey.

Cho Gue-Sung, Kwon Chang-Hoon, Paik Seung-Ho, Kim Jin-Gyu, and Eom Ji-Sung – both who were making their senior international debuts at the time – all scored for the Taeguk Warriors, while Sveinn Aron Guðjohnsen netted the lone goal for Iceland.

In terms of recent form, South Korea and Iceland are similar since they’ve only lost once in their last six outings. The hosts had three wins, two draws, and one loss, while the visitors two wins, three draws, and one loss.

South Korea’s previous international friendly was a 1-0 victory over Cameroon last September, while Iceland were beaten by Saudi Arabia earlier this week via the same exact scoreline.

Betting Tip 

The International Friendly 2022 odds are backing South Korea to win at their home pitch as they’re installed at 1.57, while Iceland are priced at 4.70 and a draw is at 3.70 in the 1X2 market.

With certain key players out for the hosts, Iceland can make this a closer game than expected. But in the end, South Korea should prevail given their overall quality compared to their visitors.

Under 2.25 @ 1.95 is a betting option worth that you might consider since we don’t expect a blowout like in their previous meeting earlier this year.

 

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