▲ In this file photo from June 22, 2021, members of the South Korean men's Olympic football team train at the National Football Center in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. (Yonhap)

football-match

S. Korea to face Argentina in pre-Olympic football tuneup

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, July 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will host Argentina in the first of their two tuneup matches before the Tokyo Olympic men's football tournament, the sport's national federation announced Friday.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said the match will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on July 13 at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, about 50 kilometers south of Seoul.

The KFA had announced Tuesday that South Korea will play France at 8 p.m. on July 16 at Seoul World Cup Stadium. Head coach Kim Hak-bum's team will fly to Japan on July 17.

Argentina won their regional qualifying tournament and will face Spain, Egypt and Australia in Group C at the Olympics.

South Korea will be in Group B against Honduras, New Zealand and Romania.

Olympic teams for South Korea and Argentina have never faced each other.

The Olympic men's football tournament is usually reserved for players under 23, though the age limit for Tokyo was raised to 24 after the one-year postponement of the competition.

There are four groups of four at the Olympics, and the top two countries from each group will advance to the quarterfinals.

South Korea's best Olympic performance to date is the bronze medal from the 2012 London Games.

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