The national team, which is temporarily led by Hwang Sun-hong, head coach of the Olympic soccer team, will be convened at a hotel in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province on the afternoon of the 18th.
Hwang Sun-hong will start his first training session at Goyang Stadium at 4 p.m. to prepare for the second consecutive match against Thailand, which will be held in the second preliminary round of the 2026 FIFA North-Central American World Cup Asia.
The national team will play Thailand at 8 p.m. on the 21st at Seoul World Cup Stadium in the third round of the second round of World Cup qualifying before departing for Thailand on the 22nd and continuing the fourth away match at 9:30 p.m. Korean time on the 26th at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok.
Korea ranks first in Group C with two consecutive wins against Singapore (5-0 win) and China (3-0 win), respectively, in the first and second matches held in November last year. Thailand, the opponent team, has one win and one loss.
Winning both consecutive games with Thailand may confirm their advance to the World Cup final qualifying round early.
This call-up is the first A-match in front of Korean fans since the semifinals of the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup were eliminated earlier this year.
It is also the first call-up since Jurgen Klinsmann's replacement, who stepped down after various controversies.
A total of 23 players were invited to the team. Along with Captain Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), who physically clashed with Son in the table tennis incident during the Asian Cup, will also join the team.
Lee Kang-in became controversial when he collided with Son Heung-min, who tried to play table tennis the day before the Asian Cup semifinal.
Following the controversy over demotion, fans' disappointment has grown further as it was recently revealed that employees and players of the Korea Football Association played cards with "casino chips" until late at night during off-season training in Duba, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ahead of the Asian Cup.
Ahead of the match against Thailand, there were even claims of a "A match boycott," but tickets for the home game on the 21st were sold out early.
Midfielder Baek Seung-ho (Birmingham City), who could not be appointed under the Cleansman regime, has been on board for the first time in a long time, with Asian Cup members such as Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Cho Kyu-sung (Mitt Whelan), Hwang In-beom (Zvezda) and Hong Hyun-seok (Hent).
In addition, Kim Moon-hwan (Alduhail) and Kwon Kyung-won (Suwon FC) returned along with defender Cho Yoo-min (Sharza) who plays in the UAE League.
European players cannot participate in training on the first day due to their return schedule after the team's schedule.
According to the Korea Football Association, Son Heung-min, Kim Min-jae, and Hwang In-beom (Zvezda) will arrive at Incheon Airport later in the day, while Lee Kang-in, Cho Kyu-sung, and Hong Hyun-seok will return home on the 19th.
Among domestic players, striker Joo Min-gyu of K League 1, Ulsan Hyundai stands out. Joo Min-gyu, who was not selected by his predecessors Paulo Bento and Klinsmann despite being the top scorer twice in K League 1 over the past three years, wore the national flag for the first time in his life.
Joo Min-gyu was selected for the national team at the age of 33 years and 333 days, the oldest in the history of the Korean national team.
In addition, side defender Lee Myung-jae, who is active in Ulsan this season, and midfielder Jung Ho-yeon, a leading player in the Gwangju FC sensation, were also selected for the first time.
However, Ulsan striker Um Won-sang was dropped due to injury, and Song Min-gyu (Jeonbuk) was selected as a substitute.
Thailand, the opponent team of the Hwang Sun-hong team, is ranked 101st, 79 steps lower than Korea (22nd) in the FIFA rankings. Korea is leading the opponent team by a large margin with 30 wins and eight losses.
South Korea is superior in objective power, but it should not be easily seen because of the recent levelling up of power and the growth of Southeast Asian countries at the Asian Cup.
Thailand, led by Japanese coach Masatada Ishii, reached the round of 16 at the last Asian Cup. https://edwardsrailcar.com/
Присоединяйтесь к ОК, чтобы посмотреть больше фото, видео и найти новых друзей.
Нет комментариев