S. Korea to face Ghana in Olympic men’s football tuneups

 The South Korean men’s Olympic football team will host Ghana twice next month for tuneup matches ahead of the Tokyo Summer Games.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced Friday the two countries will play at 7 p.m. on June 12 and again at 8 p.m. on June 15. Both matches will be played at Jeju World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo, Jeju Island.

These will be the first official matches for South Korea’s under-23 Olympic team since November last year, when they faced Egypt and Brazil in a friendly tournament in Egypt.

In this file photo from Jan. 12, 2021, members of the South Korean men’s Olympic football team train at Gangneung Sports Complex in Gangneung, 230 kilometers east of Seoul. (Yonhap)

The Olympic men’s football tournament is open to players under age 23, but teams are each allowed to select up to three players over that age limit.

South Korea won the Asian qualifying tournament in January last year. They have been paired with New Zealand, Honduras and Romania at the Olympics. South Korea’s best Olympic performance to date is the bronze medal at the 2012 London Games.

Ghana just missed out on qualifying out of Africa, finishing fourth behind Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire and South Africa at the 2019 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations.

The KFA said Ghana will visit Japan for a tuneup match before arriving in South Korea, and their players, coaches and staff will undergo COVID-19 testing immediately upon arrival. Strict health and safety protocols will be in place during their stay.