The Korean national soccer team, “Hong Myung-bo-ho,” which had a lot of talk and a lot of troubles, will finally make its first appearance.
The South Korean national soccer team will face Palestine in the first round of the third Asian qualifying round for the ‘2026 FIFA World Cup in North Korea and China’ at Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 5th.
What is needed for “Hong Myung-bo” to quell negative public opinion that has continued since the appointment of the new coach is not just a victory.
As both Palestine (ranking 96th in FIFA) and Oman (ranked 76th) who face the Korean national team in the first and second games objectively have a lower level of power than ours, Hong Myung-bo must surely achieve more than a victory.
Along with the discovery of a new face that will be responsible for the future of Korean soccer, we need to find proper harmony between the old and new players within a short training period.
First of all, four new faces were selected for the national team along with existing main players such as Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich).
Yang Min-hyuk, Hwang Moon-ki (Gangwon), Lee Han-beom (Mit Willan), and Choi Woo-jin (Incheon United), who will share a team with Son Heung-min at Tottenham in the English professional football Premier League (EPL), are the main characters.
Coach Hong Myung-bo announced the national team list on the 26th of last month and said, “There are some changes (in the existing members),” adding, “We will operate with stable and future-oriented players.”
Players who will play in the two consecutive games will have to play not only in the two games right away but also in the World Cup finals next year, which will signal a generational shift in Korean soccer.
It is expected to serve as an opportunity for promising players such as Cho Yoo-min (Sharja, 7 games), Hwang Jae-won (Daegu, 2 games), Um Ji-sung (Swansea City), Jung Ho-yeon (Gwangju), and Lee Myung-jae (Ulsan, 1 game) as well as goalkeeper Kim Joon-hong (Jeonbuk), who was born in 2003 but has not yet made his A-match debut.
A particularly notable position is the defender.
Along with South Korean defensive pillars Kim Min-jae and Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan), many defenders who can play in the side, including Seol Young-woo (Zvezda), Kim Moon-hwan (Daejeon), Lee Myung-jae, Choi Woo-jin, Hwang Moon-ki and Hwang Jae-won, were listed on the national team list.
One of the biggest points to watch is who will take over the side defense position that Kim Jin-soo and Kim Tae-hwan (Jeonbuk) were responsible for.
The front-line striker competition is also exciting.
Hong picked only two strikers, Joo Min-kyu (Ulsan) and Oh Se-hoon (Machida Gelbia), from the list.
Attention is focusing on whether Joo Min-kyu, who set a new record for Korea’s oldest A-match debut in March at the age of 33 years and 343 days, and Oh Se-hoon, who was born in 1999, will be chosen by Hong Myung-bo. 메이저놀이터
Starting with the Palestinian match, the second match against Oman, and the match against Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait, it is most important to raise the atmosphere in the first match.
Although negative public opinion and various controversies cannot be overturned as a result of the game, we must not relax so that we do not miss the victory.