Another late national team member has been born. Hwang In-jae, the goalkeeper of Pohang Steelers, has made his first national flag at the age of 30.
Hwang has proudly listed his name on the 23 A team members who will play in the second qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup North and Central America with Singapore on May 6 and China on May 11. As many as seven have been awarded the “first national flag of their lives,” the oldest among them.
“I had high expectations, but I didn’t expect it to happen. At first, I was dumbfounded. My wife loved it. Coach Park Tae-ha congratulated me separately. Now I’m more excited than nervous.”
Hwang In-jae showed off his performance enough to put on the national flag. He has recorded six clean sheets in 14 K-League 1 matches this season, ranking second in this category. It takes up a large portion of the rear build-up with excellent reflexes as well as foot techniques. Thanks to Hwang In-jae’s performance, Pohang has maintained the first place in the minimum number of runs among the 12 K-League 1 clubs.
Hwang, who has no experience as a national team player by age, started at Gwangju FC in 2016, played for Ansan Greeners, Seongnam FC, and Gimcheon Sangmu in the 2020 season, before joining Pohang University. He became the starting goalie after being discharged from military service. He established himself as the starting goalie from the 2023 season.
Hwang In-jae, who had a lot of difficulties before coming up to his current position, said, “I have been on the same path as Joo Min-gyu and Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk) and I. We all thought that if we desperately want and try, we will come back,” adding, “We had a lot of hard work, but it passes by. I’m happy that I was rewarded as much as I worked hard until the end without giving up.”
“I wish I could have gone with Jin-seop. He told me to go and do well. He told me to do well. He told me a lot of good things to do what I wanted to do confidently.” 토토사이트
Now is the time to show. The Korean national team competes with Cho Hyun-woo (Ulsan HD) and Song Bum-keun (Shonan Belmare). Hwang said, “I learned from good players while playing with them. I think it would be better if I join the national team and see other players’ strengths while showing my skills.”
Finally, he vowed, “I will try to join the national team as much as I prepared. If I have a chance, I want to show good performances.”