Korea to Face Cameroon, Costa Rica in Last Pre-World Cup Friendlies

Korea will play two last friendly matches against Costa Rica and Cameroon here this month before the FIFA World Cup kicks off in Qatar in November.

Korea faces Costa Rica in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on Sept. 23 and Cameroon in Seoul on Sept. 27. The country has been grouped with Ghana, Portugal, and Uruguay in the World Cup. 

After playing the two friendlies, manager Paulo Bento will decide a final roster for the quadrennial event.

The roster for the friendlies released Tuesday includes attackers Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur, Hwang Hee-chan of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Hwang Ui-jo of Olympiacos F.C. Midfielders Jung Woo-young of Al Sadd SC and Hwang In-beom of Olympiacos and defenders Kim Min-jae of Napoli and Kim Young-gwon of Ulsan Hyundai are also on the lineup.

The biggest surprise was that Lee Kang-in of RCD Mallorca returned to the national squad. The last time Lee played for the national team was in a match against Japan in March last year. 

He played up front but failed to make any impressive moves as Korea suffered a devastating loss. His slow speed was considered unsuitable for Bento's high pressure strategy and he has not been included in the roster since then.

However, Lee became faster this season and bulked up so he could win tussles for the ball with other players. He started in five matches in his Liga club this season, scoring one goal and three assists. Bento said he called Lee back to the national squad after studying how RCD Mallorca used him.