**South Korea hosts Uzbekistan in a friendly that should be a coronation on paper** — the Koreans have never lost to these guys, and they're at home in Daejeon. 🏟️

South Korea's form is messy (1W, 1D, 3L across five), but they just hammered Ecuador 3-0, so there's momentum there. Uzbekistan had a hot streak with back-to-back wins over Syria and Iran, but they're fragile away from home — lost 1-3 to DR Congo recently.

Key storylines:

- **South Korea's perfect H2H record** — eight wins, four draws, zero losses against Uzbekistan over the last dozen meetings. This is the house team's match to lose.
- **Uzbekistan's attack carrying the load** — **E. Shomurodov** and **O. Urunov** are the creative spark upfront; they'll need space against a solid Korean backline anchored by **K. Min-jae**.
- **Home advantage matters** — Uzbekistan have wobbled on their travels, and South Korea's 3-4-2-1 shape with **J. Eom** and **G. Cho** supporting **K. Min-jae** up top should be clinical.

Expected lineups:

- **South Korea**: K. Seung-gyu, Y. W. Seol, H. Lee, G. Lee, M. Kim, K. Lee, S. Paik, J. Kim, J. Eom, G. Cho, K. Min-jae
- **Uzbekistan**: U. Yusupov, F. Sayfiev, R. Ashurmatov, A. Abdullaev, A. Khusanov, A. Fayzullaev, O. Shukurov, A. Mozgovoy, O. Urunov, I. Sergeev, E. Shomurodov

Prediction:

**South Korea 2–0 Uzbekistan**. Expect the Koreans to control possession and convert one of their first-half chances; Uzbekistan will scrape together late pressure but won't find the net. 🎯