The national soccer team, led by coach Jürgen Klinsmann, will enter Doha, Qatar, around 6 p.m. local time on the 10th and begin the final hardening.
Locals are also paying keen attention to the move. "As far as I know, the Korean national team will be joining Qatar soon. I have high expectations for the Korean team," a source at the organizing committee said on Tuesday. "I look forward to your stay here for a long time."
The Korean national soccer team started training at a hotel in Seoul with some overseas players and K-League players who finished the 2023 season. When the team was called up in Korea, it managed its condition indoors and had team meetings.
After that, he moved to Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he trained on the 3rd. Captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Oh Hyun-kyu, Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic), Hong Hyun-suk (Hent), Kim Seung-gyu (Al-Shabab), and Park Yong-woo (Al-Ain) joined the team.
Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who lifted the trophy at the French Super Cup (Trope de Champion), joined the national team at the end of the 5th, and Klinsmann set up the whole team.
The national team, which gathered all 26 players, played a final warm-up match against Iraq in Abu Dhabi on the 6th and won 1-0 with Lee Jae-sung's winning goal. Coach Klinsmann checked his condition by using various players, including Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae in the second half.
Clinsman, who did not suffer any major injuries in training and warm-up matches, will rest the day after the warm-up match and sweat in Abu Dhabi from the 8th to the morning of the 10th before boarding a flight to Doha.
After arriving in Doha, the team will move to their lodging facility, unpack, and take a rest. The team will conduct training from 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday to prepare for the Asian Cup.
South Korea is considered the strongest member ever as Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, Lee Kang-in and Hwang Hee-chan, who are currently raising stock prices in Europe, as well as Lee Jae-sung and Hwang In-beom (Zvezda) have been listed on the national team list. In addition, it is encouraging that 26 players on the final list were not seriously injured during training and practice matches.
On top of that, the team's main players participated in the FIFA World Cup held in Qatar in 2022 and experienced Qatar's climate and environment. This will certainly lead to greater confidence in the team.
"Our goal is clear. We will definitely lift the Asian Cup trophy that we have not achieved in 64 years," Klinsmann said, displaying strong confidence.
South Korea will face Jordan at 8:30 p.m. on the 20th and Malaysia at 8:30 p.m. on the 25th, starting with the first Group E match against Bahrain at 8:30 p.m. on the 15th.