Coach Hong Myung-bo (55) of the national soccer team is a leader who seeks to change in stability.
In the process of competing for the ticket to the 2026 North-China World Cup finals, they are consistently selecting new faces, but in practice, they mainly use existing players. A total of five players were first selected for the national team in the September-October call-up, and side defender Hwang Moon-ki (Gangwon) was the only player who gave him the opportunity to play.
The door to the national team is open, but another gateway was waiting inside it. “We need to explain the direction of the team to the new players,” Hong said, stressing that time is needed to blend into the existing soccer.
However, Hong made remarks that show signs of change at the two consecutive away A-match games (in Kuwait on November 14 and Palestine on November 19). Meeting reporters in Kuwait, Hong said, “The fixation of the starting players could cause side effects. If I think that I can play anytime I join the national team, the competitiveness of the national team will disappear,” signaling a new competition. Although it will not be easy to conduct a bold experiment in the match against Kuwait that is just around the corner, it is possible to predict that the replacement card will provide some chances.
As a result, the fate of the four players (Kim Kyung-min, Kim Bong-soo, Lee Tae-seok, and Lee Hyun-joo) who received the first national flag honor in November is also drawing keen attention. The soccer community is cautiously predicting that the second yellow moon flag could increase.
The player with the highest expectation is flanker Lee Tae-seok (Pohang Steelers), who has yet to be selected as the starting member. Lee, who is left-footed, will likely have a showdown with Lee Myung-jae (Ulsan Hyundai) for selection or split the playing time as a substitute. Seol Young-woo (Zvezda), the only European side defender, can play both left and right, but he needs to experiment as he shows better performance when playing right.
The situation could be different if midfielders Kim Bong-soo (Kim Cheon-sang-moo) and Lee Hyun-joo (Hanover) who have the most competitors make good use of their colors.
Kim Bong-soo is a defensive midfielder who is basically responsible for the third-line line, but he boasts a variety of versatility that can play a central defender and right-side defense. He is different from existing players such as Hwang In-beom (Feyenoord), Park Yong-woo (Al-Ain), and Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City). Lee Hyun-joo, who has experience in the second division of the German Bundesliga, displays his talent when his opponents play as a dense defense. It is worth showing value in the return match against Palestine, which made South Korea in a difficult situation with a dense defense in the first match held at home in September. Coach Hong also praised him as “a player of the style that we don’t have.” 온라인카지노
However, Kim Kyung-min (Gwangju) cannot be expected to play given his special position as a goalkeeper. While Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan), the main goalkeeper, has maintained an outstanding performance, Lee Chang-geun (Daejeon) and the second goalkeeper should compete first. Lee Chang-geun, who surpassed Cho with +9 in the K-League’s best defense index (expected number of goals for effective shooting – actual number of goals lost), also said, “The national team has a stage,” adding, “It is too much to be greedy to play in the national team just as a baby is starting to play. It will not be easy because there are so many outstanding goalkeepers, but I will enjoy this competition.”