Intro:

The United States will open their 2014 schedule before a capacity crowd of 27,000 fans when it hosts South Korea for a friendly at StubHub Center in Carson, California.

It is the first meeting between the two sides since the group phase of the 2002 World Cup, where they played out a 1-1 draw.

Script:

SOUNDBITE (Korean) Hong Myung-Bo, Korean National Team Manager: (On his thoughts about playing in front of a sold out crowd in California)

"Many players do not have the experience to play in front of a large audience. So I think that it will affect our players. I believe that it will be a very good opportunity to get some experience to play in front of a large audience."

SOUNDBITE (Korean) Hong Myung-Bo, Korean National Team Manager: (On changes to his squad for the match with the US)

"At the moment we are preparing for the World Cup. The one very important thing is we have to find out the players who are able to play in the Worlds Cup, who can play in a very competitive environment. So although our players are very tired, and our schedule is very tight, I think the players have to overcome and adapt to these circumstances. So regarding this, this is very related to the World Cup squad, and I believe our players will do their very best."