South Korea, ranked 22nd by FIFA, had won three straight friendlies last year — beating Paraguay 2-0 in October, then Bolivia 2-0 and Ghana 1-0 in November — but struggled throughout against Ivory Coast’s pressure and conceded four times. Ivory Coast is ranked 37th. The all-time series between the teams is now 1-1.
The match was also South Korea’s 1,000th men’s A international. The first came in August 1948, a 5-3 win over Mexico in the London Olympics round of 16. South Korea’s overall record stands at 542 wins, 245 draws and 213 losses.
Using a three-back system, South Korea hit the post three times. In the 19th minute of the first half, Oh Hyeon-gyu (Besiktas) fired a left-footed shot off a forward pass from Seol Young-woo (Crvena zvezda), but the ball struck the frame.
South Korea fell behind in the 35th minute after Cho Yu-min (Sharjah), playing as the right-sided defender, was beaten by Marcial Godo (Strasbourg). The move ended with a goal by Evan Guessand (Crystal Palace).
Seol then hit the right post with a long-range attempt in the 43rd minute, and South Korea conceded again three minutes later when Simon Adingra (AS Monaco) dribbled past defenders and scored with a right-footed shot from inside the penalty area.
South Korea’s Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), on as a substitute, struck the right post with a sharp left-footed shot in the 31st minute as South Korea pushed for a response.
South Korea conceded a fourth in stoppage time on a counterattack, with Wilfried Singo (Galatasaray) finishing after a pass from Amad Diallo (Manchester United).
South Korea will travel to Vienna to play Austria at 3:45 a.m. April 1 in its second March A-match friendly.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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