South Korea pick Premier League stars for World Cup warm-ups

SEOUL: South Korea have included experienced English Premier League stars in their squad for World Cup warm-up games against Colombia and Serbia next month in a bid to end a run of poor form.

The South Koreans qualified in September for next year’s World Cup in Russia but only just squeezed into the sport’s marquee tournament for a ninth successive time on the back of one win – against Syria in March.

Coach Shin Tae-yong has picked a 23-man squad as he looks for his first win since taking over in July.

October friendlies against Russia and Morocco ended in defeats.

“I admit we haven’t been playing well of late ... I believe this is the best team I’ve had as head coach.” Tae-yong said yesterday.

“We have to test ourselves.” The recent run of results has sent South Korea, the 2002 World Cup semi-finalists, tumbling to No. 62 in FIFA’s world rankings – Colombia are ranked 13th and Serbia are 38th.

Better news for Tae-yong is that captain Ki Sung-yeung has returned to full fitness for Swansea in the Premier League.

The midfielder played 90 minutes as Swansea lost 2-1 to Arsenal on Saturday and will return to the national team for the first time since June.

Star attacker Son Heung-min (pic) was in action for Tottenham Hotspur in their 1-0 loss at Manchester United.

Lee Chung-yong of Crystal Palace and Ji Dong-won of German team FC Augsberg were omitted from the squad.

South Korea host Colombia in Suwon, just south of Seoul, on Nov 10 and take on Serbia in the southern city of Ulsan four days later.

Tae-yong’s squad will end the year with the East Asian Championships, a four-nation round-robin tournament that features hosts Japan as well as China and North Korea in December. — AP