Korea Trounces Iceland in Friendly Without Key Players

Korea defeated Iceland 5-1 in a friendly match in Antalya, Turkey on Saturday ahead of the final leg of the Asian qualifiers for this year's FIFA World Cup in Qatar slated for November.

Coach Paulo Bento led the team into the match with concerns over the absence of key players such as Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur, Hwang Ui-jo of FC Girondins de Bordeaux and Hwang In-beom of Rubin Kazan.

However, the Korean squad, with young players occupying most of the offensive positions, found their feet quickly and put in energetic performances.

Cho Gue-sung, assisted by Kim Jin-kyu, scored the opening goal in the 15th minute, followed by goals from Kwon Chang-hoon and Paik Seung-ho in the first half. Kim Jin-gyu and Eom Ji-sung also earned a goal each in the second half to seal the victory.

Korea will play another friendly in Turkey against Moldova on Friday, before heading to Lebanon on Jan. 25 for the seventh match of the final round of World Cup qualifiers.