Socceroos coach Holger Osieck says the friendly with South Korea in Hwaseong will be a great chance for both nations to see where they stand.
Socceroos coach Holger Osieck says the friendly with South Korea in Hwaseong will be a great chance for both nations to see where they stand.
Australia and Choi Kang-Hee's South Korea are second in their respective World Cup qualifying groups, with their tickets to Brazil 2014 far from assured.
Both are likely to field youthful line-ups on Wednesday with Aziz Behich, Eli Babalj and Tom Rogic all in line to make their Socceroos debuts after minimal time with the squad in training.
"[This] is a very good opportunity for both teams to test because we are both in a very similar situation, we are both second in our World Cup qualifying group," Osieck said on Tuesday.
"This time, Australia will bring in new players because we have to plan for the future as well so I expect of course a very difficult game because the Korean players have a lot of talent.
"It's definitely always better to have all the players together for a few more days but it doesn't happen this time.
"It's not a complete new team, we know each other, we have been together so we don't start at square one."
With Oman taking on Group B leaders Japan and Group A leaders Iran welcoming Uzbekistan on Wednesday, both Australia and South Korea could drop from second spot in their groups, but Osieck said it would be a prime opportunity to cast his eye over the other teams.
"All the other teams play on Wednesday so it's a good chance to make a comparison between the two groups," he said.
Osieck paid tribute to his counterpart Kang-Hee who he said had done a wonderful job at the helm of the South Korean team.
"I have a great deal of respect for my colleague he was a successful coach with Jeonbuk Motors (in K-League) and now he a successful coach of the Korean national team and so it's nice to see him again and to play again with our teams," he said.
Last time the sides met was at the Asian Cup where Mile Jedinak's second-half strike rescued a point in a 1-1 draw for Australia.
"Both teams have different players, I remember our game in the Asian Cup very well," he said.
"It was a very difficult game, Korea were a very tough team to play and I think both teams played very well that day and 1-1 was a good score for both teams."
The Qantas Socceroos will meet the challenge of fellow Asian heavyweights the Korea Republic at the Hwaseong Stadium on Wednesday, 14 November. Kick off is at 7pm local time (Kick off 9pm AEDT).
The Qantas Socceroos return to Australia in 2013, for the FIFA World Cup qualifier against Oman at Sydney-s Stadium Australia at 7.30pm, Tuesday, 26 March, followed by Iraq, at 7.30pm on Tuesday, 18 June.
Tickets for both matches at Stadium Australia are on sale now through Ticketek or via phone, 132 849.