“Is it Joo Min-gyu or Oh Se-hoon?”
New coach Hong Myung-bo, who leads the Korean men’s national soccer team, is interested in which striker and how he will use it in the A match in September.
Hong Myung-bo will convene at Goyang Stadium on the afternoon of the 2nd of next month to prepare for the first and second rounds of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA North-China World Cup.
After playing the first game against Palestine at the Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 5th, he will move to Oman to play the second game against Oman on the 10th.
Prior to this, Hong, who took the helm of the national team for the first time in 10 years since the 2014 Brazil tournament, announced the list of 26 players to play in the September A match on the 26th. Four people, including Yang Min-hyuk (Gangwon FC), were selected for the first time and attracted attention, and a large number of main players, including Son Heung-min (Tottenham), were also on board.
Coach Hong said he prepared for the A-match in September with a list of progressive generational replacement work centered on existing resources.
As attention is focused on what formation Hong Myung-bo, who will be reintroduced for the first time in 10 years, will set up a starting list, the question mark on the frontline striker is also growing.
Hong picked only two strikers due to their position in the latest list. Key players include Joo Min-gyu (Ulsan HD) and Oh Se-hoon (Machida Gelbia), who are active in Japan.
They are players Hong knows well. Joo Min-gyu formed a relationship as a priest in Ulsan before Hong took the helm of the national team, and Oh Se-hoon worked with Hong as a member of Ulsan before moving to Japan.
The strengths of the two players are clear. In addition to his traditional role as No. 9 (goal scorer) at the forefront, he can connect with second-tier players both inside and outside the box. Although Joo is old, he has seasoned skills, while Oh Se-hoon, who was born in 1999, is not as skilled as Joo but boasts youthful determination.
However, it also has drawbacks. Joo Min-gyu, the “flower that bloomed late,” has recently been embroiled in controversy over aging curves.
In March, he set a new record for Korea’s oldest A-match debut at the age of 33 years and 343 days against Thailand, and in his third A-match against Singapore in June, he scored his debut goal and ranked second in Korean soccer’s oldest A-match debut goal at the age of 34 years and 54 days.
The national flag was worn late, but he played enough to make people forget his age. However, just before the announcement of the list in September, the sharpness as before has become dull, and on the 18th, he was even hit by the variable of being sent off for elbowing Lee Jae-won against Suwon FC.
Oh Se-hoon has not scored in more than three months since the match against Cerezo Osaka in May. Although he still has control over the air ball using his unique physicality, he has not scored, which is his top priority as a striker.
Hong mentioned “4-2-3-1” and “4-3-3” at a press conference to announce the A-match roster in September. If he chooses “4-2-3-1,” chances are high that he will use Joo Min-kyu and Oh Se-hoon as “1.
On the other hand, if you choose “4-3-3,” you can change the positions of multi-players who can play the front line, such as Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), instead of two forward strikers with clear shortcomings. 메이저놀이터
As head coach Hong has selected a number of resources that can be used in the second line, including Lee Jae-sung (Mines), Lee Dong-kyung (Kim Cheon-sang-moo), Yang Min-hyuk, Um Ji-sung (Swansea City), and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), there is a possibility of changing the position of Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan.