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Next Up: Mexico

January 28, 2014

Korean National Soccer team to play in San Antonio, Texas today

Kim Shin-wook, left, will look to score against Mexico next. (Yonhap)

Korea’s football team manager Hong Myung-bo waves to reporters during the team’s practice at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Calif., Monday. (Yonhap)

By Kim Young-jin

The Hong Myung-bo-led national football squad will continue its search for the right chemistry in San Antonio, Texas, Wednesday, when they face off against Mexico in their second friendly of the year.

The match at the Alamodome is part of a three-game trip to the United States ― a primer ahead of this summer’s World Cup finals. The team is without some of its stars playing for European clubs.

But while standouts such as Bayer Leverkusen’s Son Heung-min, Cardiff City’s Kim Bo-kyung and Lee Chung-yong of Bolton Wanderers are in Europe, Hong gets a chance to assess players from Asian teams.

The match is also a chance for the squad ― which underwhelmed during its qualifying campaign ― to build momentum off its 1-0 win over Costa Rica in Los Angeles last Saturday.

They will face a Mexico side in flux. Amid a bumpy road to qualification, they parted ways with manager Víctor Manuel Vucetich after just two games, replacing him with Miguel Herrera.

Despite the instability, Mexico has seen strong play from striker Oribe Peralta ― who scored five goals in two games against New Zealand in the qualifying round.

While stopping Peralta will likely be at the top of Hong’s to-do list Wednesday, he’s also grappling with the bigger task of shaping his roster for the summer.

Before departing for the overseas trip, Hong said his World Cup squad was “80-percent finished’’ and that he expects a clearer idea of his final 23-man roster when he returned.

Hong is expected to name about a dozen players from European leagues, leaving around the same amount of spots open for those playing in Asian leagues.

That’s why the current overseas trip is vital for players such as veteran winger Yeom Ki-hun, the Suwon Bluewings player looking to appear in his second-straight World Cup.

After appearing in the 2010 event, the savvy veteran ended up in the doghouses of managers of Cho Kwang-rae and Choi Kang-hee despite his strong left-foot crosses and free kicks. He now hopes that his leadership can help the squad in Brazil.

Meanwhile, Hong reiterated that he plans to talk to former captain Park Ji-sung about a potential return to the team, despite Park’s repeated stance that he doesn’t intend to play in the World Cup.

“I know Park has said he wouldn’t play for the national team again, but I didn’t think we’d completely closed the book on his status,” Hong told reporters. “I still want to listen to his thoughts about the possibility of a comeback.”

After the friendly against Mexico, the team will head to Los Angeles and face the Jurgen Klinsmann-led U.S. team on Saturday.

Wednesday’s game is scheduled to be televised by a Spanish channel KFTR (46), and the next game on February 2, against the U.S., can be seen on ESPN2.