S. Korea to take on Saudi Arabia, Qatar in Nov. football friendlies

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will face Saudi Arabia and Qatar in two men's football friendly matches next month in Doha, the sport's national federation announced Thursday.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said the Taegeuk Warriors will first take on 55th-ranked Saudi Arabia on Nov. 13 and then play 60th-ranked Qatar on Nov. 17. The first match will kick off at 5:30 p.m. (local time), or 11:30 p.m. (South Korea time), and the latter match will begin at 5 p.m. (local time), or 11:00 p.m. (South Korea time).

These matches will fall inside the last FIFA international match window of 2026. The KFA said the two matches will help prepare South Korea, world No. 32, for the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup, scheduled to start in January in Saudi Arabia.

In 19 meetings against Saudi Arabia, South Korea have five wins, nine draws and five losses. Against Qatar, South Korea have recorded six wins, two draws and three losses.

The KFA said it had earlier sought to schedule the Saudi Arabia match in Saudi Arabia but decided to relocate it to Qatar, with Saudi Arabia having been under attack from Yemen's Houthi rebels.

These will also be the final two matches for South Korea's interim head coach, Robert Moreno.

Moreno's first four matches in charge all came in South Korea. They defeated Ecuador 3-0 on Sept. 24 before losing to Uruguay 4-1 four days later. It was followed by a goalless draw against Venezuela on Oct. 2, and then South Korea beat Uzbekistan 2-0 on Oct. 6.

Though Moreno is only signed through Nov. 27, the KFA said it will consider retaining him through the Asian Cup depending on the team's performances in Moreno's first six matches.

Moreno, though, has been dealt a tough hand with a fractured national team locker room. After the Venezuela match, defender Kim Min-jae offered public criticism of his teammates' level of effort. Then following the win over Uzbekistan, Kim and two other 30-year-old teammates, Hwang Hee-chan and Hwang In-beom, reportedly offered to retire from international play out of frustration with the team's leadership group, including longtime captain Son Heung-min.