According to a report by Yonhap news agency (as relayed by Reuters), South Korea’s international friendly against Qatar on Tuesday could be called off after a number of players in the squad tested positive for COVID-19.
Reports initially emerged that four South Korean stars – Ulsan Hyundai’s Jo Hyeon-woo, Busan’s Lee Dongjun, Freiburg’s Kwon Changhoon and Rubin Kazan’s Hwang Inbeomm, had tested positive for the virus (Daily Mail).
The players who tested negative subsequently had another test on Saturday ahead of their clash against Mexico and two more positive tests were recorded (Alasdair Gold).
Despite the six positive tests, South Korea’s friendly against Mexico still went ahead, with the Mexicans emerging 3-2 winners.
Yonhap news agency reveals that the match was only given the green light to go ahead after discussions with the Mexican Football Federation and the Austrian Football Association.
South Korea are due to play reigning Asian champions Qatar in Maria Enzersdorf, Austria on Tuesday but the report claims that that game could be called off if more players in the South Korean camp test positive.
The Korea Football Association are said to have confirmed that the game on Tuesday could go ahead as long as a team has 13 healthy players with at least one goalkeeper, with Paulo Bento currently having 19 players including two goalkeepers at his disposal.
Spurs Web Opinion
Given that there is absolutely nothing riding on this friendly, there is no reason why it should be played. Based on this report, there seems to be a very real possibility that more players in the South Korean camp might have the virus but have not yet tested positive. Given the lack of players under Bento’s disposal due to the COVID situation, it looks like Son could play another ninety minutes on Tuesday after playing the entirety of the match against Mexico.
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