Korea taking on Ivory Coast to kick off World Cup year amid injuries, slumps

Korea will open their World Cup year by playing a pair of friendly matches in Europe this month, with a tilt against Ivory Coast on Saturday set to kick things off. The showdown between 22nd-ranked Korea and world No. 37 Ivory Coast will be played at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, northwest of London, at 2 p.m. Saturday (local time), or 11 p.m. Saturday (South Korea time). Coached by Hong Myung-bo, Korea will next play Austria in Vienna on Tuesday. Korea and Ivory Coast have played each other once before, with Korea prevailing 2-0 in a friendly match in London in March 2010. Both are headed for the World Cup in June. In Group A, Korea will take on Mexico, South Africa, and a European playoff winner to be determined next week. Ivory Coast will be up against Germany, Curacao and Ecuador in Group E. Korea sought an African sparring partner ahead of the World Cup and will play the sixth-highest ranked African side. But head coach Hong Myung-bo's team will be a compromised one, with injuries to some key players and an ongoing goal-scoring drought for captain Son Heung-min. Son has not scored an o

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