Korea to host Ecuador, Uruguay in September friendlies

Korean men's national football team captain Son Heung-min, right, shakes hands with Uruguay's Diego Godin after their group stage match at the 2022 FIFA World Cup at the Education City Stadium in Qatar, Nov. 24, 2022. Reuters-Yonhap

Korea will host Ecuador and Uruguay in men's football friendly matches in September, the sport's national federation announced Wednesday.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said Korea, world No. 32, will take on 25th-ranked Ecuador on Sept. 24, and then 20th-ranked Uruguay four days later.

Venues and kickoff times will be announced later.

These matches will fall during the Sept. 21-Oct. 6 FIFA international match window. The KFA had announced on July 28 that Korea will play Venezuela on Oct. 2 and Uzbekistan on Oct. 6.

Korea and Ecuador will meet for the third time, having split the two earlier matches. Most recently, Korea prevailed 2-0 in a friendly in Seoul in May 2010.

Korea will have their 11th matchup against Uruguay, after managing one win, two draws and seven losses against the South American side. Uruguay won the previous match by 2-1 in Seoul in March 2023.

Both Ecuador and Uruguay competed at this year's FIFA World Cup, with Ecuador advancing to the round of 32 and Uruguay taking an exit from the group stage.

Korea will play these four matches and two more matches during the Nov. 9-17 window under a caretaker head coach. The head position remains vacant after former bench boss Hong Myung-bo resigned at the end of June to take the fall for the country's group-stage elimination at the World Cup.