The national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo (55), faced bad news even before its first departure. Players from the defense line reported their injuries.
The Korea Football Association reported on the afternoon of the 30th that the national soccer team was selected as a substitute due to the occurrence of injured players.
Kwon Kyung-won (32) of the Koripakan Club was left with a calf injury, and Kim Moon-hwan (29) of the Daejeon Hana Citizen was left with a left adductor muscle injury. Cho Yoo-min (28) and Hwang Jae-won (22) of the Daegu FC will fill the spot.
Kwon is a veteran who played 32 matches for the Korean national team. He also played in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and was selected for the team in the second Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North Korea and the U.S. in June. Kim, who played 27 A matches, was selected for the first time in five months since the second Asian qualifying round in March, but his injury shook his head.
The national team, which is aiming to advance to the World Cup finals for the 11th consecutive time, will play the second qualifying match for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North Korea and the U.S. starting in September. After meeting Palestinians at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on September 5, they will move to Oman for an away schedule at 11 p.m. on September 10.
Attention is focusing on Hong’s return to the national team as coach. Hong Myung-bo, who took the helm as a firefighter ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, returned to the national team for the first time in 10 years after resigning in July that year.
However, there was a lot of noise in the process. In the process of replacing Jurgen Klinsmann and appointing a new coach, there were contacts with foreign coaches, but negotiations failed to proceed smoothly and eventually appoint Hong, who was leading Ulsan HD after turning around.
The KFA had to face heavy criticism for delaying the process for a long time and failing to come up with standards to convince soccer fans. Coach Hong is also drawing cold attention as he finally took the helm of the national team, reversing his stance that he would not leave Ulsan.
Recently, Park Geon-ha, Kim Dong-jin, and Kim Jin-gyu were appointed, as well as Yang Young-min, Lee Jae-hong, and Chung Hyeon-gyu, physical coaches. They also brought in Portuguese coach João Arroso and Chiagua Maia to complement their team’s tactics. 메이저놀이터
Although Korea has holes in its defense, the opponent team will likely have no big problem as it shows a big difference in its performance in objective matches. Korea is ranked 23rd in the FIFA rankings, while Palestine ranks 96th and Oman 76th. Korea has no record in the national team with Palestine, and has been leading Oman by four wins and one loss.
For Cho Yoo-min and Hwang Jae-won, who have been selected as substitutes, it is a chance to impress Coach Hong Myung-bo. Cho Yoo-min has less experience with seven appearances for the national team and Hwang Jae-won with two. Both were selected for the national team in the second Asian qualifying round in June, but injuries to Kwon Kyung-won and Kim Moon-hwan have put on the national flag in a row.