Son Heung-min (Tottenham) will return as captain of the national soccer team.
Coach Hong Myung-bo of the Korean national soccer team held a press conference on the 4th and announced the list of players who will play in the 5th to 6th rounds of the third qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup in Asia. Son Heung-min, who failed to participate in the third and fourth rounds due to injury, was re-listed from the national team, but Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) was excluded in the aftermath of his injury in the third round match against Jordan. It is also noteworthy that four players, including Lee Eul-yong (Pohang Steelers), the son of Yongin City Football Center, who is one of the main players in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup semi-finals, have been selected for the national team.
Team Korea, which aims to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, will gather at Incheon International Airport on the evening of the 10th for Kuwait. Team Korea will face off against Kuwait at 11 p.m. on the 14th and Palestine at 11 p.m. on the 19th in the 6th. Team Hong Myung-bo aims to win both away matches to wrap up this year’s A-match schedule in a good mood.
The news that soccer fans will be most pleased with is Son’s return to the team. Son only recently made his comeback after suffering a hamstring injury (muscle behind his thigh) in a Europa League match in September. “We should not put too much pressure on Son, who just returned. We will also flexibly adjust the schedule according to Son’s playing time. We have also prepared an alternative measure in case Son does not play full time,” Hong said.
Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan HD), and Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), who were the core players of the national team along with Son Heung-min, remained on the list. Bae Joon-ho (Stoke City), Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk), and Cho Yoo-min (Sharja), who played well in the October A-match, were also called back. 메이저사이트
Lee Tae-seok, Lee Hyun-joo (Hanover), Kim Kyung-min (Gwangju FC), and Kim Bong-soo (Kim Cheon Sang-bu) have been selected for the first time in their careers. “While we maintain the basic framework of our team, we will be accompanied by new players and future resources,” Hong said. Lee became the third player in the history of Korean soccer to wear the national flag after the late Kim Chan-ki, Kim Seok-won, and Cha Bum-keun and Cha Du-ri. “I always think about the position of fullback, but I thought we need to invite him to join us this time to observe the future as a typical fullback,” Hong said of Lee. “I checked thoroughly. The number of times we played in our team has increased, and our performance has also improved. I thought it would be a good option to use Lee as he is not a type among our players.”