Mixed results for FCA internationals

With the World Cup in Russia drawing ever closer, Ja-Cheol Koo and Takashi Usmami have played their first pre-tournament international friendlies. FCA Austrians Martin Hinteregger and Kevin Danso were also in action.   South Korea 2-0 Honduras On Monday, the 28th May, the South Korean national team beat Honduras by two goals to nil in their first pre-tournament friendly.  The goals were scored by Heung-Min Son and Seon-Min Moon in the second half. Ja-Cheol Koo did not feature. South Korea 1-3 Bosnia-Herzegovina Their second friendly was not as successful, as head coach Tae-Yong Shin’s men were beaten 3-1 by Bosnia-Herzegovina. FCA’s Ja-Cheol Koo was in the starting XI and was taken off after 75 minutes. South Korea equalised almost immediately after going behind on the half-hour mark, but they conceded again on the stroke of half time before the game was eventually put to bed in the 79th minute. On Monday, the 4th June, the final 23-man squad for the World Cup will be submitted, after which two more international friendlies will be played. Japan 0-2 Ghana The Japan national team proved to be not yet fully-prepared for the World Cup finals, as Takashi Usmami and his international colleagues were beaten 2-0 by Ghana in their first friendly. The FCA man on loan at Düsseldorf started the game and played the first half. The good news is, however, that Usmami has been named in the final 23-man squad for the tournament in Russia, who will play their next friendly on the 8th June against Switzerland. Austria 1-0 Russia Having missed out on World Cup qualification, Austria arranged friendlies against hosts Russia, title-holders Germany and Brazil. The first of which was a success, as the Austrians beat Russia 1-0 thanks to a goal by Schalke’s Alessandro Schöpf. FCA’s Martin Hinteregger played the full 90 minutes, while Kevin Danso didn’t feature. Next up for Austria: neighbours Germany.