The list of players for Korea’s national soccer team for the upcoming World Cup includes some powerful player and an unexpected pick.

Shin Tae-Yong
Shin Tae-Yong – Yonhap News

On May 14, Shin Tae-young, the coach for the national soccer team, announced his list for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. During the announcement meeting, Shin revealed that until the very last minute he would unveil a line-up that consisted of only 23 players, including those injured.

In the end, he decided to add five additional players to the original 23 for a total of 28. After domestic training, the team will be widdled down to 23, and they will leave for training in Austria.

Some of the notable players included on the national team include Son Heung-min (25), striker Hwang Hee-chan (22, Austrian Red Bull Salzburg), and Lee Seung-woo (20, Hellas Verona). Notably, Son scored 18 goals and had 11 assists this season as part of the Tottenham Hotspur.

Lee was probably the most surprising announcement considering his young age. However, Shin explained that Lee was selected based on the judgment that there is a “possibility of development.”

Shin Tae-Yong
Image source – Yonhap News

The upcoming World Cup will be Lee’s first time playing for the adult national team. Prior to this, he had played with the under-20 (U-20) World Cup where he scored a 40-meter dribble goal against Argentina. More, in 2011 he joined Barcelona’s youth team and was praised as the “Korean Messi” but left the team last year when he transferred to Verona.

While his specs are good, Lee has been criticised for mostly being a substitute during his debut match in Verona on September 24. Further, some believe that at a height of 5’5″ (170 cm) he is simply too short to be an effective player.

However, Shin considered Lee a “secret weapon” to be used against Sweden in the first group match. “We need Lee Seung-woo, who has strong speed” to combat Sweden’s strong physicality and organizational skills, the coach explained. Nevertheless, this is only possible if Lee joins the final line-up of 23 players who will head to Austria.

See the full list below:

Kim Seung-gyu (Vissel Kobe)
Kim Jin-hyeon (Cerezo Osaka)
Jo Hyeon-woo (Daegu FC)
Kim Young-gwon (Guangzhou Evergrande)
Jang Hyun-soo (Tokyo FC)
Jeong Seung-hyeon (Sagan Tosu)
Yun Yeong-sun (Seongnam FC)
Kwon Kyung-won (Tianjin QuanJian)
Oh Ban-suk (Jeju UTD)
Kim Jin-su (Jeonbuk Hyundai)
Kim Min-woo (Sangju Sangmu)
Park Joo-ho (Ulsan Hyundai)
Hong Chul (Sangju Sangmu)
Go Yo-han (FC Seoul)
Lee Yong (Jeonbuk Hyundai)
Ki Sung-yueng (Swansea City)
Jeong Woo-young (Vissel Kobe)
Kwon Chang-hoon (Vissel Kobe)
Ju Se-jong (Asan Mugunghwa)
Koo Ja-cheol (Augsburg)
Lee Jasung (Jeonbuk Hyundai)
Lee Seung-woo (Hellas Verona FC)
Moon Sun-min (Incheon UTD)
Lee Chung-yong (Crystal Palace FC)
Kim Shin-wook (Jeonbuk Hyundai)
Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
Hwang Hee-chan (FC Red Bull Salzburg)
Lee Keun-ho (Gangwon FC)

 

Original article (1)(2)(3)

Translated by O.C

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