S. Korea depart for Austria for pre-World Cup camp

IANS  |  Incheon 

The South Korean men's squad departed for on Sunday to set up its pre-camp, 15 days before their first group stage match in

"We'll fly to and will prepare thoroughly for the long-awaited World Cup," Shin told reporters at before his flight.

"I hope our fans, whether watching our matches on TV or cheering on the streets, can give us great support. We'll try to deliver good results to respond to their support."

Drawn in Group F, the 61st-ranked are scheduled to play world No. 23 at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod on June 18, followed by the 15th-ranked at Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don, on June 23.

South Korea's final Group F opponents will be Germany, the defending champions and world No. 1, at Arena in on June 27.

are playing in their ninth consecutive but will be the underdogs in all group matches. Their most recent performance didn't exactly inspire confidence in a skeptical fan base. After downing 2-0 on Monday, fell to Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1 in their final warm-up match at home on Friday, with their defence badly exposed.

Shin will have two more opportunities to test his systems. South Korea will face on Thursday and then Senegal four days later. The latter contest will be held behind closed doors.

"We didn't show everything in the friendly matches," he said. "After we go to Austria, we'll strengthen our teamwork and will play a better game."

--IANS

pur/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sun, June 03 2018. 19:42 IST