Korea to take on Saudi Arabia, Qatar in Nov. football friendlies

Korea will face Saudi Arabia and Qatar in two men's football friendly matches next month in Doha, the sport's national federation announced Thursday. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said the Taegeuk Warriors will first take on 55th-ranked Saudi Arabia on Nov. 13 and then play 60th-ranked Qatar on Nov. 17. The first match will kick off at 5:30 p.m. (local time) and the latter match will begin at 5 p.m. (local time). These matches will fall inside the last FIFA international match window of 2026. The KFA said the two matches will help prepare Korea, world No. 32, for the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup, scheduled to start in January in Saudi Arabia. In 19 meetings against Saudi Arabia, Korea have five wins, nine draws and five losses. Against Qatar, Korea have recorded six wins, two draws and three losses. The KFA said it had earlier sought to schedule the Saudi Arabia match in Saudi Arabia but decided to relocate it to Qatar, with Saudi Arabia having been under attack from Yemen's Houthi rebels. These will also be the final two matches for Korea's interim head coach, Robert Mor