S. Korea departs for Miami to set up last pre-World Cup camp

Members of the South Korean men's national football team departed for Miami on Friday to set up their last training camp before the FIFA World Cup, determined to give a boost to the crestfallen nation reeling from a recent maritime tragedy.

Head coach Hong Myung-bo and his 23-man squad suffered a 1-0 loss to Tunisia on Wednesday, their last match at home before the big tournament in Brazil. Hong said Friday the team will not dwell on the defeat and will only look forward from here on.

"After our latest match, we've established what we want to accomplish in training," he told reporters at Incheon International Airport. "We will address issues with our organization. And to go up against the world's best players, our players will also have to work on their physical play and improve their individual skills."

Hong has often said he hoped the national team's performance would give a much-needed jolt of energy to South Korea, devastated by the deadly sinking of the ferry Sewol last month that has left more than 300 people dead or missing.

The coach reiterated the theme Friday, saying, "We'll do our best to rekindle the flame of hope for South Korea."

South Korea will have one final tune-up match in Miami against Ghana on June 9, before arriving in Foz do Iguacu, its base camp in Brazil, two days later.

"Training in Miami will obviously be very important," Hong said. "I've scheduled some rigorous conditioning drills. We will also work on agility and power."

South Korea, ranked 55th, is paired with Russia, Algeria and Belgium in Group H. The first group match will be against Russia on June 17.

Ghana, ranked 38th, is in Group G at the World Cup, taking on Germany, Portugal and the United States.

Should both South Korea and Ghana go past the group stage, they could meet in the round of 16 in Brazil. The Group G winner will face the Group H runner-up, and the Group H winner will play the Group G runner-up in the knockout phase.

Hong made a last-minute roster change on Thursday, replacing injured defender Kim Jin-su with another back, Park Joo-ho.

Kim came down with an ankle injury on May 6 and hasn't progressed as quickly as team officials would have liked, forcing the coach to summon Park, who himself had been dealing with foot inflammation.

Park, considered a major snub when the team was first announced on May 8, said he's healthy enough to take part in training.

"I have no problem running or training with the ball in my boots," he said. "I could have taken longer to heal but coach Hong and the rest of the staff helped me recover in time."

Park said he understood Kim's pain of missing out on the team, and he wanted to work extra hard now that he's been given a second opportunity.

"I've come a long way to make the team, and I admit I am feeling some pressure," Park said. "I will prepare the best I can to contribute to the team."

South Korea will be playing in its eighth consecutive World Cup and has advanced to the knockout stage in two of the past three tournaments. South Korea also captured its opening group match in the past three finals, beating Poland in 2002, Togo in 2006 and Greece in 2010.

South Korea has made it out of the group stage twice, reaching the semifinals in 2002 when it co-hosted the World Cup with Japan and advancing to the round of 16 in 2010 in South Africa, where it lost to Uruguay. (Yonhap)