Coach Hong Myung-bo did not take the risk of Son Joon-ho (Suwon FC).
Hong announced the final qualifying list for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North Korea and the U.S. in September at the soccer center in Sinmun-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 26th.
While Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) joined in large numbers, Cho Hyun-woo, Kim Young-kwon, and Jung Woo-young (Ulsan HD) were also listed.
In particular, “high school specials” Yang Min-hyuk, Hwang Moon-ki (Gangwon FC), Choi Woo-jin (Incheon United), and Lee Han-beom (Mit Willan) faced changes as they joined the national team for the first time.
In the midst of this, Son Joon-ho, who longed for his return to the national team, was not chosen by head coach Hong.
“Son Joon-ho is constantly watching. There are still some areas that have not been clarified yet. We need to check with the Chinese Football Association, but there were risks,” Hong said, referring to the “China issue.”
Son Jun-ho was caught by public security in May last year while playing in Taishan, Shandong Province, China, and was detained in criminal custody. The exact reason was not revealed, but it was speculated that it was a crime of accepting non-state workers that “a person belonging to a government or a company illegally received other people’s property by using his duty.” Son Jun-ho was detained and investigated for as many as 10 months, and returned home after being released in March.
Son sought to return to the K-League and gradually improved his performance by joining Suwon FC in the summer transfer market. Although Son lost physical strength in the game, he showed off his presence through sharp passes and control of the midfield. “I am confident as a defensive midfielder. I really want to join the national team,” Son said after the match against Jeju United a day before the announcement of the roster.
However, he did not make a comeback to the national team. Although Son returned to Korea, he was hamstrung by the Chinese judicial risk as the exact charges and guilt or innocence were still unknown.
In the end, Park Yong-woo and Jung Woo-young were selected 먹튀검증 as the “partners” of key midfielder Hwang In-beom, but anxiety continues. Park Yong-woo was selected as the national team with good performance in Ulsan, where Hong was leading, but became the biggest source of anxiety at the last Qatar Asian Cup.
In response, veteran Jung Woo-young will return to the national team for the first time in a year and three months in last June’s A match under interim coach Kim Do-hoon. Jung Woo-young started in both the match against Singapore and China, and Park Yong-woo was substituted in the second half of the match against China.
Jung Woo-young is highly likely to start again this time, but he still has physical challenges as he has to play a match for the national team after returning to the K-League at the age of 35. The issue of getting the third term in the first term was not resolved even at the convocation of the Hong Myung-bo team.