South Korea's national soccer team's new head coach Jurgen Klinsmann speaks upon his arrival at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea on March 7, 2023 © Reuters

Jurgen Klinsmann's era in charge of South Korea will get kick-started this week as he takes charge of the national team for the first time since being named the new manager in February.

The German coach will be hoping to start with a positive result, while the team itself will be keen to impress, making this an important game.

South Korea were impressive during the recent World Cup, picking up four points during the group stage following a draw against Uruguay and a shock victory over Portugal.

While their run in the tournament came to an end during a forgettable 4-1 loss against Brazil in the round of 16, the squad should have taken plenty of confidence from the performances.

That is something they will be keen to showcase in the first match since that point, which should make South Korea a genuine threat within this fixture.

Colombia's Mateus Uribe celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates on March 24, 2022 © Reuters

However, the visitors are currently enjoying a three-match undefeated streak heading into Friday's game, which is a run they want to extend.

Colombia's national team are notorious for their hard-working attitude on the pitch, and that is clear from their recent defensive performances.

The Los Cafeteros have been able to keep a trio of consecutive clean sheets heading into this game, and that side of their game is going to be needed against strong offensive opponents.

Colombia's most recent match saw them play out a goalless draw against USA, and while it continued their recent undefeated run, more attacking quality will be needed this time out.

With Colombia not being part of the World Cup, the team has had a longer break than their opponents, but that should only make them keener to get onto the pitch to get back on track.

South Korea form (all competitions):

Colombia form (all competitions):

Team News

South Korea's Son Heung-min serving gimp mask on November 22, 2022 © Reuters

Celtic's Oh Hyeon-gyu received a call-up for this international break, and the striker will offer something fresh to the team as he has only made one appearance for the team so far.

One aspect of the South Korean team that is unlikely to change is the ever-present Son Heung-min, who will be expected to feature heavily during Klinsmann's era.

Jhon Duran is an exciting prospect for Colombia and he has been able to showcase glimpses of his quality since joining Aston Villa, and a friendly could be a good chance to give him more minutes.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the field Alvaro Montero is likely to retain his place in goal due to the strong defensive performances of the team lately.

South Korea possible starting lineup:
Seung-gyu; Moon-hwan, Kyung-won, Young-gwon, Jin-su; In-beom, Woo-young; Hee-chan, Kang-in, Heung-min; Gue-sung

Colombia possible starting lineup:
Montero; Fabra, Llinas, Perez, Mosquera; Campuzano; Ruiz, Catano, Velasquez; Duran, Hernandez

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We say: South Korea 2-0 Colombia

South Korea are a strong attacking unit and while Colombia boast a quality team the fact that the hosts have a brand new manager should help to get them a positive result here.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.