The choice of Jürgen Klinsmann (Germany) was center back Kim Ji-soo (Brentford) born in 2004 and side striker Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic) born in 2002. The call-up of the Klinsmann is a chance to play in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup for those who have not been given the opportunity to play in the A-match only once.
Coach Klinsmann held a press conference at CGV in Yongsan, Seoul on the 28th and announced the final 26 players for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. Kim Ji-soo and Yang Hyun-joon, who had been shunned by Coach Klinsmann in both October and November since their first call-up in September, were surprisingly selected as defenders and midfielders, respectively.
In fact, even before the announcement of the final list, attention was focused more on who would receive the opportunity to select additional players than on who would be eliminated. Coach Klinsmann’s composition of the national team has not always changed or competed much since his appointment, as the final entry for this tournament has increased by three more players from 23 to 26. Looking at coach Klinsmann’s selection trend so far, 24 players had already been outlined even before the announcement of the list. In fact, 24 of the 26 final entries for the Asian Cup announced on the same day were not beyond the predictable range.
Attention was focusing on Clinton’s choice of who to fill the remaining two spots. The decision is being made whether to surprisingly select a player who has never been convened before or to select a player who has been convened at least once since its inauguration. Given that it is an actual stage where players are challenging for the championship, chances are high that players who have experience such as last year’s World Cup in Qatar or who have consistently played in their teams including the K-League will be given a chance.
The coach’s choice was rather unexpected. Kim Ji-soo and Yang Hyun-joon were given the qualifications to play in the Asian Cup. The first and last time they both wore the national flag since the launch of the team was an away match in Europe in September. At that time, Kim Ji-soo was only sitting on the bench in both the matches against Wales and Saudi Arabia. All he did was play in the 39th minute of the second half of the match against Wales and play in the 6th minute of regular time. In other words, Kim Ji-soo, who has no record of playing in an A match, and Yang Hyun-joon, who played in 6 minutes in one A match, are on the list for the Asian Cup.
Even so, it was hard to regard them as players who have consistently played in their respective teams. Born in 2004, Kim Ji-soo has yet to make his debut in the English Premier League and is mostly playing in U-21 teams. Yang has had one goal and one assist in 16 Scottish Premiership matches, but he has had opportunity to start in seven matches and played 639 minutes, far from being a starting member. That was why Clinton’s choice was surprising.
The same was true in terms of the composition of the national team. With Kim Ji-soo’s selection, five of the 26 players are center back, following Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Kim Young-kwon, and Jung Seung-hyun (Ulsan HD) and Kim Joo-sung (FC Seoul). Although he was classified as a midfielder, Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk Hyundai) can also be classified as a center back resource. The second line that Yang can play for is already saturated with Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Jung Woo-young (Saint-Germain), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and Moon Seon-min (Jeonbuk Hyundai). In other words, it is difficult to consider that he selected them due to lack of players at the position. 헤라카지노
“When I heard that 26 players could be registered at the AFC, I was happy and pleased,” Klinsmann said. What I talked about internally was that it would be an opportunity for players who will lead Korean soccer in the future. Kim Ji-soo believes that he is a player who will play a big role for Korean soccer in the future. He convened in Europe in September and checked in person, and continued to do so through contact with his club. “We decided to select the three players after internal discussions to ensure good growth for the future of Korean soccer.” In the end, he was appointed to give young players including Kim Ji-soo and Yang Hyun-joon a chance to experience at the Asian Cup. He also means that he will do what he should have done in the previous eight warm-up matches on the actual stage at the Asian Cup.