Striker Oh Hyun-kyu (Henk) watched the semifinal match against Jordan at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup from the bench in February.
Oh Hyun-kyu, who played in the Asian Cup at the behest of former coach Jurgen Klinsmann, did not receive many opportunities to play because he was pushed out of the competition with Cho Kyu-sung (Mit Willan).
In the semifinals against Jordan, we had to watch the national team lose 0-2 helplessly on the bench.
Eight months later, Oh Hyun-kyu relieved his resentment in a rematch with Jordan, which kicked off at the Amman International Stadium in Jordan on the afternoon of the 10th in Korean time.
Oh Hyun-kyu, who replaced Joo Min-kyu (Ulsan) in the 6th minute of the second half when South Korea was leading 1-0 in the third Group B match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Asia, played a role in the 2-0 victory by shaking the net with a cool right foot shot in the 23rd minute of the second half.
Jordanian home fans, who did not lose their fighting spirit and cheered for their players in the 38th minute of the first half when Lee Jae-sung (Mainz) scored the first goal, also gradually died down after Oh Hyun-kyu scored.
Oh Hyun-kyu said, “I didn’t play much during the Asian Cup, but it really hurt to see us lose against Jordan from outside.”
“I really wanted to play in the match against Jordan. I think I could have healed the wounds of our people by scoring a goal like this,” he added.
After being eliminated from the Asian Cup semi-final, former coach Klinsmann was replaced, and physical clashes between Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain) were known.
Oh also went through a hard time amid a tough time in Korean soccer. Oh lost his footing with his former club, Celtic (Scotland), but failed to join the national team for a while.
He moved to Genk (Belgium) and scored three goals in eight games to restore his performance and put on the national flag again in eight months under the choice of coach Hong Myung-bo, and also reported his first A-match goal in Jordan.
“I scored my dream debut goal. I expected it to be a difficult game, but all the players prepared well and won,” Oh said, expressing his desire to win the main striker position.
“Every player wants to play as a starter. No matter how the coach chooses, I respect him,” he said. “I will do my best whether I play one minute or 90 minutes.” 메이저놀이터
Oh Hyun-kyu, who came to the national team for the first time in eight months after the Asian Cup, said, “The team atmosphere is really good right now. The players hang out together during training or not,” adding, “I felt that we became one. I thought that I could win even before the game.”
Oh Hyun-kyu, who has been on the rise, is preparing to play at home in the fourth round of the World Cup qualifying round against Iraq at 8 p.m. on the 15th at Yongin Mir Stadium.
“I’m really looking forward to the match against Iraq. I think it will be fun,” Oh said. “I’m excited and excited about how much better our players will perform.”