National soccer head coach Dick Advocaat will release Thursday afternoon the final 23-man roster for his World Cup squad.

Advocaat will arrive in Seoul Thursday morning from Europe, where he has watched South Korean players in recent days.

The 24 players who took part in the team's overseas training earlier this year and six other candidates based in Europe are in the running for the roster's 23 spots.

Drawing keen attention is who will replace striker Lee Dong-gook who is undergoing a six-month rehab period after knee surgery and whether Cha Du-ri of the Bundesliga, Song Chong-gug of the domestic Suwon Samsung and a third reserve goalkeeper will be included on the roster.

After the announcement, the World Cup squad will begin training in earnest from Sunday.

The team will play four warm-up matches, two in Seoul and the others in Norway and Scotland, before going to Cologne, Germany early next month for final preparations.

The team’s World Cup opener is against Togo on June 13th.

South Korea is in Group G with France, Togo and Switzerland.