Pre-match: USA vs. South Korea - February 1st, 2014 (Carson, CA)

For anyone holding out hope that FIFA might arrange Friday's draw pots any other way than CONCACAF and AFC together this pretty much ends that. No way we'd announce this game 4 days before the draw if there was any way we were going to end up in a group with South Korea.

 

Agudelo
Dempsey — Feilhaber — Donovan
Beckerman — Diskerud
Klute — Besler — Gonzalez — Evans
Rimando​

 

I love Saturday night Cupcake Int'l friendlies in January (well, February). Finish up a day of skiing. Come home to a big pot of chili or soup, grab a beer or three and watch an awful game. Don't care. USA Soccer in winter.

 

Will this be a Camp Cupcake friendly or World Cup warm up friendly?

 

Camp Strudel.

 

This match is not on an official FIFA match date. (And I don't think this friendly's announcement definitively says anything about the draw format.)

These nations will be happy to send out "B-squads" for a 2/1/2014 friendly, four months ahead of the WC itself -- even if there is some incredibly unlikely chance that they'd get placed in the same group by FIFA's draw on 12/6.

(And they can always cancel, if they need to. Ticket sales don't start until after the draw is over, and broadcast details have not been finalized. And no, I don't think they'll have a need to cancel this friendly.)

Pace yourself, could be a busy weekend, as this Saturday friendly is the day before Super Bowl Sunday.

 

While everything you said is true, the vast majority of the Korean team plays in the K-League, with several more in the J-League or the Chinese league, all of which play summer schedules. They would be missing a few key players, but fewer than the US.

 

Yes. And given that this match is outside of FIFA's official international match dates in 2014, this will be an "unofficial friendly" populated with some (however many) "B-team" players for each team.

(And I'd suspect that each manager might take full advantage of the likely expanded substitution allowances to get a look at possible "late additions" to their WC roster options, rather than necessarily trying to run out some semblance of as much of an "A-/B+ team" as possible.)

 

I hope this is not correct in that it won't be the first match of the year. We are headed to Brazil apparently Jan 12th-25th, and I was really hoping to get a match against a South American side down there somewhere.

 

The South korean national team has friendlies against Costa Rica on Jan. 25th and Mexico on Jan 29th, all of which are away games. If this US friendly really happens, you are going to face a weary Korean side. The core of the South Korean team are our European club players so there is a high probability they will head back to their respective club.

However, it's in the LA area so this might just be a commercial event for both parties. (LA has the largest Korean population). I think a lot of Korean Americans will be VERY disappointed if they don't play the starters

 

High possibility that it'll be a K-league/J-league team sent to play USA.

 

Uh, not really.

Ki Sung-Yeung, Son Heung-Min, Lee Chung-Yong, Koo Ja-Cheul, Kim Bo-Kyung, Hong Jeong-Ho are all Euro-based starters for the Korean team who won't be involved in this friendly. Throw in Park Ju-Young and Ji Dong Won and that's 8 key players who will be missing for Korea.

 

The US is going to be missing a lot of key names as well, so we can't take much from this game. We will be missing Tim Howard, Brad Guzan, John Anthony Brooks, Geoff Cameron, Michael Bradley, Jermaine Jones, Jozy Altidore, Fabian Johnson, Alejandro Bedoya, and possibly Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Omar Gonzalez.

 

And this is not necessarily a bad thing. Korea is looking to build depth with a K-League/J-League squad, we are looking to build depth with an MLS/Scandinavian squad. Should be nice. Korea are taking this trip very seriously with three friendlies, so I am psyched up for this.

Considering that Korea is also playing Mexico and Costa Rica, it is also possible that the US may play one of those squads as well in January/February. Also, there is the rumored Brazil friendly early on, so I am thinking the US may play three friendlies as well.

 

I disagree on both counts. For one, I imagine Korea will bring a full 23 man squad. They will rotate players and the Costa Rica game they will be rusty, after their long offseason. In fact, it will be the US game where they will be at peak performance unless they play the same starting XI through all three matches.

Furthermore, the ROK fans in Los Angeles do not care. They understand that Korea is building for the World Cup. I've seen South Korea twice in Los Angeles (2000, 2002) with squads that were not exactly full strength and the South Korean fans really represented. I expect a packed house in Carson.

 

It's only a test match between fringe/back-up players for both squad. SK vs Costa Rica isn't confirmed & just like the US, this is basically a "camp cupcake" for Korea. I believe both countries will be in Brazil for training before these friendlies kick-off in the states.

Btw, how is John Anthony Brooks a key player for US considering he only has 2 friendly caps for US??

 

same

 

you forgot Bacon in the euro list and need to add besler and zusi to the potential loan list with clint, landon and omar

 

Because he is an important future piece that will most likely be in the 23 to brazil.

 

you guys should set up a match with Colombia. This would be an interesting game to watch.

 

From what I've gathered, we were more likely to schedule a closed-door scrimmage with a Brazilian club than a real international friendly, and now that sounds like it's very much the case. Disappointing though it may be.

 

Got a feeling that'd be the case, provided that we aren't drawn into Colombia's group of course. Last time we played Colombia it was a 0-0 snoozefest, hoping the next meeting is anything but (whether it be a pre-WC friendly, or at the WC itself)

 

While it's true that Korea will be out 7 starters, remember that the rest of the Korean full national teamers play in the K and J-Leagues, as well as China. All of those guys will be available, so effectively Korea will be fielding a pretty good squad, especially since the US squad will be playing a squad with arguably 4 starters on it as well with a whole lot of peripheral players. Both squads will be fielding players who are on the cusp of the Brazil selection, so I expect a spirited match.

We have played Colombia many times, and they are interesting to watch. I really hope we can get more than one high profile friendly, but ROK is a good start to the year so far.

 

It is also probable that there may be an earlier friendly but nothing is set in stone, after all, the World Cup draw is coming up and that will radically effect how teams schedule tune-ups. But I do not mind closed door friendlies and a secretive camp.