Jürgen Klinsmann unveils his roster for South Korea’s first World Cup qualifier.
The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced in a press release on Saturday its squad for the second round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA Confederations Cup North America in November.
Klinsmann, who has been in charge of the South Korean national team since March, utilized four A-match periods between March and June, September and October to play a total of eight matches, recording three wins, three draws and two losses.
Klinsmann’s team went winless in its first five matches, drawing three and losing two, before recording its first victory, 1-0, against Saudi Arabia in Newcastle, England, in September. The team then picked up the pace in October with back-to-back sweeps of Tunisia (4-0) and Vietnam (6-0) at home.
Klinsmann, who used the trials to get a first-hand look at different tactics and players, now faces a crucial test.
South Korea will take on Singapore at 8 p.m. on Sept. 16 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in the first leg of their second World Cup qualifying group. They will then travel to China for their second match on the 21st.
Both Singapore and China are objectively inferior teams to South Korea.
However, South Korea can’t take this call-up for granted.
It’s not just about getting to the World Cup, it’s the last call-up before the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in Qatar next January.
With so little time to organize, it’s likely that Klinsmann will call up the same core group of players he’s trusted for so long. This means that Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Lee Kang-in (Paris Saint-Germain), and Hwang Hee-chan (Wolverhampton) will once again be on the plane to South Korea.
Encouragingly, the players who have been playing in Europe recently have been in good form.
Son Heung-min, the national team captain, has been in top form with eight goals for his club. His teammate in the English Premier League (EPL), Hwang Hee-chan, has shown improvement, recording offensive points (four goals and two assists) in his last six games.
Lee Kang-in returned to his club after the October A match and has two goals and an assist in his last three games. He’s settled in nicely with his new team, and his upward trajectory is expected to continue with the national team.
In addition, Lee Jae-sung (Mainz), Hwang Eui-jo (Norwich), Oh Hyun-gyu (Celtic), and Hong Hyun-seok (Hent) have also found the back of the net for their clubs. Kim Min-jae, Hwang In-beom (Zvezda), and Kim Seung-kyu (Al-Shabab) have been playing consistently for their clubs and are expected to continue their rise in the national team. 무지개토토 도메인
Meanwhile, the players will gather at Paju NFC on the 13th to begin training and prepare for the two A matches in November.
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