The South Korean national team that will participate in the King’s World Cup in Italy has been confirmed. Gamst will be the coach, and Lee Bum-young, a former member of the Olympic team, will wear the captain’s armband. Although it is a different World Cup, Gamst delivered his goal of writing a semi-final myth following the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.
The Korean national team, which will participate in the “King’s World Cup Nations Italy 2025,” held a ceremony and press conference at the Freak-up Studio located in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul at 5 p.m. on the 17th. Gamst coach Lee Bum-young, Kim Hyun-seok and Babamba (Shoot For Love) attended the event and threw their hat into the ring.
During the opening ceremony, GAMST said, “The King’s World Cup cannot include active players, so we selected players who are in good physical condition even after retirement. As for Italy, I heard that 10,000 people applied to select the national team. We also chose the team while observing thousands of players. I am surprised while training,” adding, “I am serious because I carry the Korean national flag on my chest. Can I coach these players? I was worried, but they are following along well. The players and coaches did everything for me. As the head of the team, I will do my best.”
“I will do my best to assist you in achieving your goal,” said Babamba from Shot4Love, who serves as the team’s backup team leader. It is unclear whether Park will attend or not, as he will come to Italy to cheer for him, and Lee Kang-in is an active player. “I think it will be an interesting game. As much as you look forward to it, I will show you good results and fun games.”
The event will be held from Jan. 2 to Jan. 13, 2025 in Turin, Italy, with a total of 16 countries participating including Korea, the U.S., Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Japan. Each team consists of famous and current soccer players, Internet broadcasters, and influencer.
The Korean national team will include Korean soccer legend Park Ji-sung, Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in and streamer Gamst-ShootforLove. The Korean team will meet Brazil in the first round, and will then be divided into a winner’s group and a loser’s group.
The goal was to reach the semi-finals or higher. “Brazil is a good team, but I think we have to overcome it because we are here to win the championship,” Gamst said. “It is our first time to play in the King’s League in Brazil. We also have a lot of good players, so I think we can win. We formed a squad to win the championship. I want to give 10 points out of 10,” Gamst said. “As I represent Korea in the competition, I am basically aiming to reach the semi-finals or higher. Gamst reminds me of entertainment programs, but I am taking it seriously. I will try my best. I want to go to Italy and show Korea’s status.”
The Korean national team boasts a spectacular squad. Gamst and Moon Hong joined the coaching staff, and Kim Hyun-sung, Oh Ji-hoon, Kang Min-soo, Shinsegae, Lee Ho, Hwang Do-yeon, Kim Dong-cheol, Park Eun-gang, Min Kyung-hyun, Lee Jung-geun, Lee Jung-jin, and Cho Young-chul were included in the team.
In addition, world-class soccer players such as Neymar, Kaka, James Rodriguez, Sergio Aguero, Mario Goetze and Chicharito have been listed on the roster of each country.
“I’m going to do my best. I’m preparing most seriously after 35 years of life,” Gamst said. “There were a lot of amateur players during the GAMST. This time, we selected former professional players because it represents the national team. The players’ experience was important. I think I did a good job of including the players who participated in major competitions. I expect good results. I am paying attention to Kim Dong-cheol. When I first saw him, he was so scared because he was staring at me. He was so charismatic and I wanted to use him as a starting player as I saw him tie up the opponent team.” 스포츠토토
Meanwhile, the King’s World Cup is a seven-man football competition created by FC Barcelona’s “legendary” Gerard Pique with famous Spanish streamers after his retirement. It has been gaining sensational popularity in Europe and South America by shortening the game time to 40 minutes, 20 minutes each before and after each, and giving it a different fun than existing soccer, such as no offside or player replacement restrictions.