Preview: South Korea vs. Paraguay - prediction, team news, lineups

The home nation have already welcomed Brazil and Chile in this round of fixtures, while their visitors previously suffered a heavy defeat in Japan.

Match preview

South Korea kicked off 2022 in a positive manner, as they booked their place in this year's World Cup with a strong run of form in qualifying.

Five consecutive wins left them well ahead of United Arab Emirates and confirmed their place in the Qatar tournament, with a final-day loss to the third-placed nation inconsequential as a result.

Following the hiatus after the end of their qualifiers, Paulo Bento's men returned to action at the beginning of June with a home meeting against Brazil, and they were unable to carry their fine form over as the Selecao dished out a 5-1 thrashing with Hwang Ui-jo's early equaliser having little bearing on the final score.

The Tigers of Asia managed to return to winning ways last time out, though, beating Chile 2-0 as Hwang Hee-chan opened the scoring and Son Heung-min added a second in the dying minutes.

Ahead of this summer's East Asian Football Championship and the looming World Cup, Bento's squad will now look to build further momentum with another win on Friday.

They take on a Paraguay side vying to return to form after a tough stretch of their own, having struggled to compete in last year's Copa America and the South American World Cup Qualifiers.

After progressing through the group stage in the former last summer, La Albirroja were dumped out in the quarter-finals by Peru, eventually losing a penalty shootout after a dramatic 3-3 draw.

Despite it being too late to stage a comeback in World Cup Qualifying under the management of Guillermo Barros Schelotto, after a winless run, they were at least able to post a 3-1 victory in the penultimate game against Ecuador before finishing with a defeat to Peru.

On the back of that disappointing campaign, La Albirroja returned to action with a trip to take on Japan last week, and their struggles continued as the game finished in a 4-1 defeat, with Derlis Gonzalez's goal nothing more than a consolation.

Without a major tournament looming, Paraguay can simply focus on regaining confidence in the camp after a tough period in their recent history on the continental front.

South Korea International Friendlies form:

South Korea form (all competitions):

Paraguay International Friendlies form:

Paraguay form (all competitions):

Team News

South Korea's key man is undoubtedly Tottenham Hotspur star and international captain Son Heung-min, who scored his 32nd goal in his 100th cap for the Tigers of Asia in the win over Chile.

Hwang Hee-chan is another danger man going forward, having also got on the scoresheet last time out, while experienced forward Hwang Ui-jo will also be vying for a place back in the starting XI.

Elsewhere, Jeong Seung-hyun and Kwon Kyung-won should again partner up at the heart of the defensive line.

Paraguay deployed a centre-back pairing of Omar Alderete and Luis Zarate for the Japan game, with the experienced duo of Fabian Balbuena and captain Gustavo Gomez out of the matchday squad, despite being called up for the friendlies.

Miguel Almiron will remain a key man in attack, while Angel Romero and Jesus Medina are both pushing to come into the front line after being on the bench last time out.

South Korea possible starting lineup:

S Kim; M Kim, Kwon, S Jeong, Hong; Jung, I Hwang, W Jeong; Son, I Hwang, H Hwang

Paraguay possible starting lineup:

Lopez; Benitez, Zarate, Alderete, Riveros; Sanchez, Cubas; O Romero, A Romero, Almiron; Avalos

We say: South Korea 3-1 Paraguay

South Korea boast a strong squad full of talent, particularly in attack, while Paraguay arrive in somewhat of an ebb and lacking any real momentum.

Previews by email