The USMNT vs South Korea international friendly will take place this Saturday, February 1, 2014 (2:00 PM Pacific) at the StubHub Center. The match to be played in Carson. CA will be the first game for the United States in their preparation for the World Cup this June in Brazil. Meanwhile, South Korea will end their USA mini-tour where they also faced Costa Rica, and Mexico earlier in the week.
Related: USA Roster Against South Korea
The United States will have their first contest ahead of Brazil 2014. With four and a half months left before the start of the World Cup, Jurgen Klinsmann must begin the process of player-elimination. The friendly against Korea Republic will be of tremendous importance for the USMNT because not only will it allow for the coach to see which players may be included in his final list, but it will also allow the team to start using tactics that will be present in Brazil.
The USMNT current roster is far from the official list that will be used in the World Cup considering this 22-player list only includes two players based in European leagues and none from the Liga MX. Nonetheless, this Saturday fans will have the chance to see top stars like Landon Donovan, Eddie Johnson, or Omar Gonzalez. However, it will be most important to focus on those who do not have a secure spot in the final list like Mike Magee, Chris Wondolowski, or DeAndre Yedlin.
The South Korean national team will end their United States tour after Saturday’s game. Within the last week, they defeated Costa Rica 1-0, and also lost 4-0 against a difficult rival like Mexico. As the USMNT, South Korea’s roster does not have any players based in Europe, therefore the team which will play the USA will be far from their top level.
USA vs South Korea Prediction
The friendly this Saturday will be played in a wonderful atmosphere as tickets were sold-out two days prior to the match. The USMNT is the favorite to win the contest not only because they are the home team, but because they have the better talent and have a good base of players which will be starters in the World Cup.
Analyzing South Korea’s poor performance in the friendly against Mexico last Wednesday shows that the USMNT will face a slightly under-form side. However, the Stars and Stripes may be in a weaker playing form considering the Asian side will play their 3rd game in a week, while the USMNT has not played a match in weeks. In a good match, the USA vs South Korea friendly will end in a 3-1 win for the home team.
USA vs South Korea TV Schedule
The USA vs South Korea match will be televised on ESPN 2 and Unimas at 2:00 PM Pacific.
USA vs South Korea Highlights
The USA vs South Korea video highlights will be uploaded soon after the end of the match.
