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S. Korean team gets 1 hour of training at Pyongyang venue on eve of World Cup qualifier

October 14, 2019

PYH2019101309020001300_P4 (Yonhap) — South Korea trained for one hour at the venue for a World Cup qualifying match in Pyongyang on Monday, the Korea Football Association (KFA) said.

South Korea, coached by Paulo Bento, will face North Korea in Group H action in the second round of the Asian qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday. The South Korean team arrived in the North Korean capital Monday afternoon, after stopping over in Beijing, and spent an hour working out on the artificial grass at Kim Il-sung Stadium.

The KFA, in Seoul, provided reporters with the information, since no South Korean journalists made the trip for the match. South Koreans seeking to visit North Korea must receive invitations from the North and must get the Seoul government’s approval, but Pyongyang didn’t authorize trips by anyone other than the football players and members of the national team support staff.

The match, set to kick off at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, will not be broadcast live in South Korea.

The KFA said the pre-match press conference earlier Monday, with Bento and his defensive back Lee Yong at the podium, was covered by only five North Korean journalists.

South Korea and North Korea have both won their first two matches in Group H so far.

South Korea captain Son Heung-min arrives at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Oct. 13, 2019, to leave for Pyongyang for a World Cup qualifier against North Korea on Oct. 15. (Yonhap)

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