It is a different story. The basic condition for Korea to become a second player is that he is capable of challenging himself to the big leagues in Europe.
The South Korean men’s national soccer team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, will play against Palestine in the first round of the third qualifying round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup between North Korea and the U.S. at Sangam World Cup Stadium in Seoul at 8 p.m. on the 5th.
Hong Myung-bo called up the best 26 players ahead of the Palestine-Pride match. A total of 19 players, including 12 players in the K League, participated in training on the 2nd, including Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in, who played in their team in the early morning of the 2nd, as well as Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan, Hwang In-beom, Seol Young-woo and Lee Han-beom, joined the team belatedly and started training from the 3rd.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced prior to the training on Monday that the team will have a meeting with the entire team according to the schedule of arrival of the convened players, and then head coach Hong Myung-bo has changed his schedule. As some overseas players have been delayed from arriving in Korea and convening new players, the meeting has been postponed to four days in order to manage their conditions.
After a short meeting on the ground, the athletes, coaches and coach Hong Myung-bo immediately started training. All of the players completed warm-up by running on the field. Among the seven players from overseas who joined belatedly, Hwang Hee-chan immediately went through tactical training, while the remaining six were separated from the team after warm-up, and warmed up by riding a bicycle.
Among them, Lee Han-beom participated in tactical training instead of cycling after stretching. Meanwhile, when this reporter met him on Sunday, Hong said, “We are deeply agonizing over the fatigue of the team.” At the time, he said, “How many days off the main players will be able to take is a big influence. As we arrive tomorrow, we have to train and play for one day on the 4th. We will wait and see,” adding, “We are paying attention to the fatigue of those who join the team belatedly.” 토토사이트
On how to use the resources called up first, such as Yang Min-hyuk and Um Ji-sung, he said, “It’s very difficult for European players to come to Korea and play and fly for 10 hours again,” adding that they may use non-mainstream resources depending on the player’s fatigue.
At a press conference on Friday, Korean national team coach Hong Myung-bo and his team captain Son Heung-min were interviewed. “All the players seem to have prepared well ahead of this game. We need to prepare for many home and away games during the year. We will do our best to get off to a good start,” Son said.
As a captain, Son Heung-min said, “I’ve been a captain for a long time, but I think it’s possible because all the players have sacrificed themselves rather than doing it alone. When new players come in, I try to help them together and take responsibility and help them do well on their own. I think we can all work hard for the fans as one.”
The members of the national team who were not included as the best members on the day were all too fancy. One simply needs to look at each player’s club. One needs to look no further than the names of Son Heung-min, the captain of the national team and the first Asian captain of Tottenham Hotspur, Lee Kang-in, who is considered the “untouchable” of PSG, and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) and Lee Jae-sung (Mines), who are embedded in mid-class clubs in the league.
In fact, it would have been safe to assume that a second-term player in the national team would be a player who plays in the European big leagues to be included in the starting lineup. Next-generation promising players such as Um Ji-sung (Swansea City) are also rapidly making inroads into the big leagues. Bae Jun-ho (Stoke City), who was not selected for the upcoming national team, is also displaying outstanding performance at the championship.
This is not the end. Yang Min-hyuk, the K-League’s flagship hit product, caught Tottenham’s eye with his performance in half a season. Already confirmed to be transferred in the summer transfer market, he will start full-fledged competition in the big leagues after the end of this season. After all, if he wants to become a second player in Korea, he has to prove his capability in the big leagues.
Literally, the most luxurious members of all time, especially the second line, may not be far behind any European country or South American country. With the heyday of Korean soccer continuing, attention is being paid to whether South Korea, which is taking on new challenges with the new head coach, will be able to continue its strong form once again.