After pulling Ulsan Hyundai back from the brink of defeat, In-Joo In-gyu is back in action against Jeonbuk Hyundai. In the final K League 1 match before the announcement of Klinsmann’s roster, can In-Jong-kyu make his presence felt again and catch the eye of South Korea national soccer team coach Jürgen Klinsmann?
In a short while, Ulsan, where In-Jong-kyu plays, will take on rival Jeonbuk in the 16th round of the Hana OneQ K League 2023 at Jeonju World Cup Stadium at 4:30 p.m. on March 3. As Ulsan’s leading striker in a team that is currently leading the league in overwhelming fashion, In-jong-kyu is one of the players who will be receiving the most attention ahead of the match.
In their last match against the Daejeon Hana Citizens, In-Joo was nothing short of heroic. Down 1-3, Ulsan fought their way back to a 3-3 draw thanks to an explosion of goals in the second half. Lee rattled the Daejeon goal in the 33rd and 44th minutes of the second half. His two goals against Daejeon Hana gave him eight goals in the 2023 season in K League 1, tying him with FC Seoul’s Na Sang-ho for the league lead.
It’s safe to say that Hyundai is the most recently in-form player on both sides as they prepare for the derby. Naturally, the Jeonbuk defense is expected to be the most tested. It’s also worth noting that Jeon had a particularly strong showing against Jeonbuk last year as a member of Jeju United. In the 2022 season, In-jong-kyu scored four goals and provided one assist in four appearances against Jeonbuk. On May 28, 2022, he scored a multi-goal game against Jeonju, leading Jeju to a 2-0 victory. He didn’t score in his first Jeonbuk match after returning from Ulsan, but it’s worth remembering that he had just joined the team and was still finding his feet. Now that he’s fully settled in, he could be a completely different player.
Jürgen Klinsmann, the head coach of the South Korean national soccer team, will be in attendance. Klinsmann will announce the roster for the two June A matches at 9 a.m. on June 5 in the multipurpose room on the second floor of the Football Hall, located at Shinmun-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul.스포츠토토
In March, Klinsmann selected the roster for the second leg of the A match based on the main roster for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. He was forced to use his predecessor’s team because he didn’t fully understand the Korean players. However, starting with the A match in June, the roster will consist entirely of Klinsmann’s ‘picks’.
In that case, it is not impossible to rule out the possibility that Lee In-jong-kyu, who has played well in the K League but has been ignored by the national team, will be called up. For him, the Jeonbuk game is very important. If he can prove to Klinsmann that he is the best in-form striker in Korea, his long-held dream of earning the Taeguk mark will not be an impossible goal.