Jürgen Klinsmann, 59, has named a number of new faces to his squad for September’s European tour, with several key players out with injuries and others heading to the Asian Games (AG) squad led by Hwang Sun-hong.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced the 25 Taegeuk Warriors for the two September A matches in a press release on Monday. Klinsmann’s squad will play an exhibition match against Wales on Sept. 8 before traveling to Newcastle, England, to face Saudi Arabia five days later.
Klinsmann had previously emphasized the importance of the two September A matches, but the roster announcement was marred by injury news. Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), a key player for Klinsmann’s side, recently injured his left quadriceps and will need to recover during the A-Match.
On the loss of Lee, Klinsmann told KFA: “Player injuries are the biggest variable in the preparation for the A-Match, especially Lee’s injury, which will disrupt our game operations. However, we will accept the reality and use it as an opportunity to prepare another plan.”
South Korea will be without Lee Kang-in for the first time in a year. Lee hasn’t missed a national team call-up since September of last year. Despite not stepping on the pitch in September, he helped South Korea reach the round of 16 at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He has started all four matches since Klinsmann took over in March. This is the first time he has been dropped from the national team since taking over.
Injuries and a “traffic jam” with the Asian Games squad led to a number of new faces joining Klinsmann’s squad. Baek Seung-ho, Song Min-kyu (Jeonbuk), Jung Woo-young (Stuttgart) and Park Kyu-hyun (Dresden), all of whom were called up by Klinsmann in June, will join the AG squad led by Hwang Sun-hong in September.
After a year and eight months away from the national team, defender Kang Sang-woo (Beijing Guoan) and attacking midfielder Lee Dong-kyung (Ulsan Hyundai) will wear the Korean flag. Kang Sang-woo is expected to fill the void left by Kim Jin-soo (Jeonbuk Hyundai), who recently returned from an orbital fracture, and Lee Dong-kyung.
Goalkeeper Kim Jun-hong (Gimcheon Commerce) and center back Kim Ji-soo (Brentford), both key players in the U-20 World Cup quarterfinals in June, have been named to the senior squad for the first time in their careers. Kim is believed to have been given the opportunity due to an injury to Song Bum-geun (Shonan Belmare). Midfielder Lee Soon-min (Gwangju FC) earned his first taegeuk at the rather late age of 29.
“The two players (Kim Jun-hong and Kim Ji-soo) were not selected for their immediate impact, but rather as the future of the national team and to see how they can grow,” said Klinsmann. “Lee Sun-min is a consistent performer in the K League, and we are confident that the new players will be the start of a change to achieve our goal of winning the Asian Cup.” 온라인카지노
The front line, where changes were expected, remains the same. The trio of Oh Hyun-gyu (Celtic), Cho Kyu-sung (Mitwillan) and Hwang Eui-jo (Nottingham Forest), who have been together since the first edition of Klinsmann, were selected in September. However, Oh and Cho are recovering from injuries, and Hwang hasn’t played since the start of the 2023-24 season, so there are concerns about his fitness. Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton), who recently suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury, also made the squad. “In the case of Cho Kyu-sung and Hwang Hee-chan, we have been in constant communication with their clubs and deemed them fit for this call-up,” Klinsmann said.