USA begin World Cup preparations against South Korea
- by Soccer America , Dec 2, 2013
The match will be the first since the USA and South Korea played to a 1-1 tie in Daegu at the 2002 World Cup. The only U.S. win in six meetings came earlier in 2002 when the USA won 2-1 at the Gold Cup. That match featured the first international goal of DaMarcus Beasley, who is still with the national team.
"As a team that has qualified for Brazil, the Korea Republic will be another great benchmark for us," said U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann. "They bring a different style of play than we have seen in the last two years, and that gives us a chance to grow. With only two or three games left before May, this will be an important opportunity for the players who will be finishing off the January camp. The message will be the same one we start with every time we get together: we are here to win."
The USA and South Korea will likely be placed in the same pot of Concacaf and Asian teams at the World Cup so there would be no chance that they'd meet at the World Cup in Brazil.
The U.S. team for the South Korea game will likely be dominated by MLS players who will enter a national team camp in the winter.
