In early 2006, during the break between domestic seasons, Advocaat took a 23-man squad of players from the K-League and J-League and embarked on a five-week, ten-match tour. It started with an Advocaat's first defeat as manager against the UAE. From there they travelled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where they drew with Greece and won against Finland. Then they travelled to Hong Kong to take part in the Carlsberg Cup, where they defeated Croatia before losing in the final to Denmark. They then travelled to America where they lost to Costa Rica, won against Major League Soccer (MLS) side LA Galaxy and Mexico. The tour finished in Aleppo, Syria, on 22 February 2006 with an Asian Cup qualifying match against Syria which they won 2–1, ending the tour with six wins, one draw and three losses. In the lead up to the World Cup, South Korea played five more friendlies, winning two, drawing two and losing one.