Hong Myung-bo, the captain of Kim Min-jae (28, Munich), announced his first departure.
The national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play the third round of the Asian qualifying round for the 2020 North-China World Cup in Amman, Jordan. Jordan (1 win, 1 draw, 4 goals) is leading the group, while South Korea (1 win, 1 draw, 3 goals) is ranking second. If South Korea is to regain the lead in the group, it must catch Jordan.
Hong Myung-bo became a complete group of 26 people on the 8th with the final five Hwang In-beom, Kim Min-jae, Lee Kang-in, Lee Han-beom and Seol Young-woo joining. The last runner, Seol Young-woo, arrived in Jordan at 4 a.m. local time.
Finally, Hong Myung-bo has gathered as a whole. Captain Son Heung-min is out, but head coach Hong Myung-bo has appointed Kim Min-jae, an “iron pillar” as a new captain. Veteran Lee Jae-sung assists Kim Min-jae as a vice-captain.
Coach Hong Myung-bo said, “Through the meeting as a whole, Kim Min-jae decided to wear the armband. Vice-captain Lee Jae-sung is the vice-captain. Kim Min-jae is in a position where he can control all the situations in the game and see the flow and do it. Kim Min-jae, who is good for senior and junior relationships, was selected based on the team’s influence overall.”
It is the first time Kim Min-jae has been appointed as captain since a friendly match with Tunisia in October 2023. At that time, Kim Min-jae kicked the captain’s armband as Son Heung-min was out. As such, captain Son Heung-min has consistently kept the national team for a long time.
The team conducted its first outdoor training session with all 26 players on Sunday. Fourteen of the team’s 26 players participated in training in 100 percent condition. The remaining 12 players, including Seol Young-woo, Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in, belatedly entered Jordan and started training as the recovery team. Joo Min-gyu, who played a lot of time in the K-League, was also on the recovery team.
Players had light running drills on the field and then divided them into two groups to take the ball away. Bae Jun-ho, Hong Hyun-suk, and Kim Jun-hong practiced hard in the same group. Hwang Hee-chan coached the players in the other group. 메이저놀이터
The players of the recovery team focused on stretching on the mat. Kim was paired with Park Yong-woo. As a captain, Kim constantly gave instructions to the players.
The training was only disclosed to reporters for the first 20 minutes. Tactical training was conducted in earnest after the reporters left. The players were constantly shouting and staying faithful to the training as much as in actual games.
“I have a player or a tactic to replace Son. The most important thing is what kind of performance (the new player) will show,” coach Hong Myung-bo said.