The South Korean national soccer team, led by Jürgen Klinsmann, is undergoing a generational change.
Looking ahead to the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar and the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America, Klinsmann’s plan has begun in earnest.
Klinsmann attended the pre-match press conference against Peru at the Busan Asiad Stadium on Friday. Klinsmann’s men will play their first June A match against Peru on June 16 at 8 p.m. at the same venue.
The June call-up could be seen as the beginning of a gradual generational change under Klinsmann.
For the March A match, which was held immediately after Klinsmann’s appointment, the entire Qatar World Cup squad was called up, but the second edition of Klinsmann’s team is expected to be even more exciting as the new coaching staff has selected several players after watching many domestic and international matches.안전놀이터
First of all, Kim Min-jae (Napoli), Kim Young-kwon (Ulsan Hyundai), and Kwon Kyung-won (Gamba Osaka) were absent due to basic military training and injuries, so new faces or players who have not been called up for a long time, such as Kim Joo-seong (FC Seoul), Jung Seung-hyun (Ulsan), and Park Kyu-hyun (Dresden), joined the defense.
In the attack, Oh Hyun-gyu (Celtic), Hong Hyun-seok (Ghent), Won Doo-jae (Gimcheon Sangmu), and Park Yong-woo (Ulsan) joined the midfield. Hong Hyun-seok and Park Yong-woo will be looking to make their debuts for the A team.
At the press conference, Klinsmann emphasized the competition, saying that new faces could come in at any time.
“Anything can happen,” he said. Injuries, Kim Min-jae’s military training, etc. The door is open for everyone. I think the coaches are looking forward to it,” he said.
“I want the new players to show their faces and prove themselves. This is their chance to show their skills. Won Doo-jae saw it in person against Gimcheon Sangmu, and Park Ji-soo went to Portugal to see it,” he added.
“We need to heat up for the Asian Cup, which is seven months away, and we need to compete for Qatar. The players have to show that they want to go to Qatar, that they want to be there,” he said.
“I want to give the players a chance, someone will get injured and want to go to a special Asian Cup. There are some players who can’t be left out, like Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae, but I want other players to compete and show their will.”
Klinsmann’s contract runs for three and a half years until the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America.
With an eye on the Asian Cup in the near term and the North American Cup in the longer term, Klinsmann said he’s keeping an eye on the current national team, as well as the age-group squads, including the U-20 World Cup squad, which has been performing well in Argentina.
“We have our squad, we have the U20 World Cup squad, we have the Hangzhou Asian Games squad. It’s important for the coaching staff to see how the younger players perform,” he said.
“We need to see who will be the next Kim Seung-kyu, and we need to see the players who are growing up. The Asian Cup roster, the World Cup qualifying roster, and the final World Cup roster could change,” he said. “Not only the current players, but also some good young players came to the A team. “We’ll see which of the age group players are worthy of the national team. As they develop, we’ll take a long view and have a plan B and plan C.”