Jürgen Klinsmann wants to see the competitiveness of his defense firsthand.
On June 5 at 9 a.m. at the Korea Football Association’s Football Hall in Shinmun-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, the South Korean national soccer team announced the roster for the upcoming June A matches.
TEAM Klinsmann will face Peru on June 16 at the Busan Asiad Stadium and El Salvador on June 20 at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium.
The players who will participate in the trials have been revealed. Hwang Eui-jo, Cho Kyu-sung, and Oh Hyun-gyu have been selected for the offense. In the midfield, Son Jun-ho, Hong Hyun-seok, Won Doo-jae, Hwang In-beom, Lee Jae-sung, Park Yong-woo, Lee Kang-in, Son Heung-min, Hwang Hee-chan, and Na Sang-ho were named. On defense, Park Ji-soo, Kim Joo-seong, Kwon Kyung-won, Ahn Hyun-beom, Kim Jin-soo, Lee Ki-je, and Seol Young-woo were selected. The goalkeepers were Kim Seung-kyu, Cho Hyun-woo, and Song Bum-geun.
Main center backs Kim Min-jae and Kim Young-kwon were not called up to the squad due to basic military training and injury, respectively. Hong Hyun-seok, Park Yong-woo, and Ahn Hyun-beom were called up for the first time.
[Klinsmann’s press conference].
-June A match roster
I’m excited and looking forward to the game. We had some good games against Colombia and Uruguay. It’s a shame we didn’t get the result. The two friendlies will give us a chance to get to know the players. We’ve taken a lot of situations into account.
The last two and a half months have been busy. I met with a lot of clubs and players. The fans must have had a great time during those two and a half months. I was happy and proud to see Kim Min-jae lift the Scudetto (Italian Serie A trophy). He created a moment that he will remember for the rest of his life. I was proud to be the national team manager, and it was a happy memory. I also met Son Heung-min at Tottenham and watched Oh Hyun-gyu at Celtic. I played a lot as a substitute and won a lot of trophies. Hong Hyun-seok was one of them. He played well in the Belgian league.
As a national team coach, the challenging part is to develop the players. It’s a big year for Korean soccer. We have the Asian Games in September and yesterday we had a good result at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. I’m in constant communication with the coaches of each age group. We are discussing how to develop the young players to the national team. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in January will be important, but it will be interesting to see what changes we make to the roster before then.
The draw for the Asian Cup in Qatar is now complete. It’s time for more preparation. During the draw, I watched the atmosphere on the ground in Qatar and thought about how best to prepare. It will be interesting to see who will be traveling with us to Qatar. It’s time for a series of steps to prepare for the Asian Cup.
-Son Jun-ho on his selection
It hurts quite a bit. We continue to do what we can at the federation level. We are doing everything we can for him. We don’t know the exact condition of Son Junho. However, the team’s performance in March was positive. Our role is to pray for him and do everything we can to get him home as soon as possible. We want him to know that we’re here for him.
-Son Junho on his condition
We want to let him know that we are with him. We’re looking at what we can do to help him as an association. The roster may change when we meet next week. There are still games left in the K League and there could be injuries. The national team manager has to make the best choices in the face of change and put together the best team possible. The 23 players in the squad are competitive. We need to continue the good performances we had against Colombia and Uruguay. I would like to emphasize that the nature of the national team is such that the roster can change at any time and we are monitoring many players.
-Defensive midfield changes
Jung Woo-young (Al Saad) had a small surgery and won’t be with us. I’ve been watching the K League and watching Gimcheon Sangmu, and I’ve been studying a lot about them. I’m learning about Korean soccer. If you look at the roster, these are the players the coaches have been traveling to see. Advisor Cha Doo-ri and coach Kim Young-min watched the games in Korea. These are the steps to prepare for the Asian Cup. It’s a process of creating the best roster and team. The coaches are very talented, so we are having a lot of discussions and trying to pick the best roster.
-An unchanged offense
The striker position is special. You are judged by your goals. I was happy to see Cho Kyu-sung score last weekend, and although I didn’t get to see him play, I’m hoping that Oh Hyun-gyu will score as well. He must have struggled because he came on as a substitute more often than he started. These three are players who can show more. We have the type of striker we have. There are players in the K League who are scoring a lot of goals, and there comes a time when players are not scoring. It’s our job as coaches to help them.
-On coordinating with head coach Hwang Sun-hong
I’m constantly talking to coaches Hwang Sun-hong and Kim Eun-jung. We are missing Jung Woo-young (Freiburg) from our roster. There is a good atmosphere and we are having fun. We will continue to talk. He can be called up to the national team at any time.
-Defense changes
As a national team coach, the variables are sometimes difficult. It’s your job to make the best choices. Change is natural. I want to get the rhythm of the national team, but it will be a bit difficult in June. I’ve been monitoring Ahn Hyun-beom, but I haven’t seen him play, but I’ll see him soon. He plays well on the flanks, is dynamic and aggressive. It’s good to see such an aggressive player. It’s important to see how he performs when called up. Things like injuries create opportunities for other players. I want the new players to do well. We will talk to them and help them to be confident and play at 100%. I hope the players who are out with injuries come back as soon as possible.스포츠토토
-On the competitiveness of the K-League and the process of identifying players
It’s fun to watch a new league every time. With the K League, I’m learning a lot about each coach and player’s style. There are some great matches and some boring ones. It’s like any league. We try to narrow the pool of players as quickly as possible. We’re trying to identify players who have the ability and are at the national team level. There are always variables. I didn’t think Jin-Soo Kim would be able to come. It will be great to see him again. We are also talking to the age groups. It’s good to see the younger players. It will be interesting to see how the players from the age groups develop over the years and join the national team.